{"id":5475,"date":"2021-10-19T11:25:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T11:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rdo-olr.org\/?p=5475"},"modified":"2025-03-11T22:11:21","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T22:11:21","slug":"the-temporality-of-emergency-related-declarations-at-the-intersection-of-the-opioid-crisis-and-covid-19-in-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rdo-olr.org\/fr\/the-temporality-of-emergency-related-declarations-at-the-intersection-of-the-opioid-crisis-and-covid-19-in-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"The Temporality of Emergency-Related Declarations: At the Intersection of the Opioid Crisis and COVID-19 in Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

‘By Madeline Tater’<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Canada is currently facing dual public health crises, though one seems to be struggling to garner quite as much attention. While in a short period of time the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused lasting impacts on the health and livelihoods of Canadians, the opioid crisis continues to see high rates of overdoses and deaths, as well as other acute substance use-related harms. Circumstances for people who use substances have only been further exacerbated by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Recent border closures have interrupted the flow of illicit drugs into Canada, giving rise to an increasingly toxic drug supply<\/a> as cheaper cutting agents, like fentanyl, are being relied on to make supplies last longer. Safe consumption sites (SCS) and other outreach support services have been forced to close or modify service delivery in adherence with public health guidelines.[1]<\/a> Many people with substance use disorders \u201cresid[ing] in congregate living situations, including group recovery housing, shelters, and correctional facilities\u201d are at further risk of transmission where physical distancing is near impossible.[2]<\/a> Interrupted treatment from required self-isolation or quarantine also places many individuals at heightened risk of drug withdrawal, harms stemming from using drugs alone, and other severe health risks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In these instances, and others, the measures that have been put in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our communities have inadvertently worsened the impacts of the opioid crisis through reduced services. Communities at risk include (but are not limited to): people in need of harm reduction services and supplies; people in medication-assisted treatment programs; people in abstinence-based recovery, such as Narcotics Anonymous<\/em>, who have experienced disruptions to in-person treatment programs; people experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness; people engaged in sex work; and people involved in the criminal justice system on early release as a result of measures enacted to reduce the overcrowding and transmission of COVID-19 in correctional facilities.[3]<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

While recent spikes in opioid-related mortality and morbidity have been reported all across the country, including in smaller municipalities like Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador<\/a> and Timmins, Ontario<\/a>, some provinces have released particularly harrowing statistics. For example, in the month of May, 2020, the province of British Columbia reported greater than 170<\/a> suspected illicit-drug toxicity deaths, which equates to about 5.5 deaths per day over the course of the month. At the time, this represented the highest number<\/a> of illicit drug toxicity deaths ever recorded in a month in British Columbia\u2019s history. The province of Alberta reported 301 opioid overdose-related deaths between April and June, 2020 (compared to 188 in the same period last year);[4]<\/a> and in Ontario, Toronto continues to see a rise in opioid-related overdose deaths, reporting an 85% increase<\/a> since the COVID-19 pandemic began.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

These numbers are especially staggering when compared to the number of COVID-19 related deaths reported in each province, which are not as high.[5]<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The changing nature of legal environments in declared emergencies\u2026 <\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

While \u201cin nonemergencies [sic<\/em>], existing laws and policies offer reasonable guidance on the empowerment of actors and entities to allocate health resources and deliver health care,\u201d this legal environment can shift rather drastically during declared emergencies.[6]<\/a> In the context of existential threats, such as those to public health and safety, emergency declarations can trigger an array of nonconventional powers devised to assist response efforts by both public and private actors, as we have seen in the interprovincial reallocation of personal protective equipment for frontline workers. Emergency declarations can waive specific regulatory requirements, permit the provision of public health services at non-traditional care sites (think of COVID-19 assessment centres erected in arenas and community centres), mobilize emergency funding, broaden or ease restrictions pertaining to the scope of service delivery, and provide for a host of other actions.[7]<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

While some of the above measures have been implemented to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has also sought to address the intersection between the pandemic and the opioid overdose crisis by implementing temporary modifications to existing health policy that aim to reduce the risk of harm for people who use substances. These modifications<\/a> include:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n