Alberta data reveals deadliest month for toxic drug fatalities in 7 years | Globalnews.ca

April marks the deadliest month on record for overdose deaths in Alberta, according to new data on the province’s substance use surveillance system.

The province released data on Monday showing 179 people died in April this year from the toxic drug supply, bringing the yearly total to 613.

This is more than 46 per cent higher than in April 2022, when 123 toxic drug deaths were recorded. It is also higher than pre-pandemic levels — the province recorded 51 toxic drug deaths in April 2019.

The previous record was set in December 2021, when 175 toxic drug deaths were recorded.

In an emailed statement to Global News, Mental Health and Addictions Minister Dan Williams said the most recent data shows why addressing drug use and illegal drug trafficking is important.

“As Alberta’s government, we recognize the devastating losses felt by families and communities as a result of addiction, drug abuse and illicit trafficking,” the statement read.

“While we have made significant strides towards this vision over the past four years, it is clear more needs to be done to support treatment and recovery from addiction.

“Together we will achieve our moral obligation to prevent suffering for our children, to help those suffering with addiction pursue recovery, and to hold criminals, who have caused so much harm in our communities, accountable.”

This is the first time the province updated its substance use surveillance system since January. When asked about the delay, Williams’ spokesperson Hunter Baril said updating the system is a “significant undertaking” and monthly morality data usually has a two-month lag time.

Baril also said government communication activities are restricted during an election period (May 1 to 29) and the posting of any web content is subject to this policy.

“This policy is also followed while government is in a ‘care-taker’ period immediately following an election until a new Cabinet is sworn in and new Ministers are briefed on their files,” Baril told Global News in an emailed statement on June 14.

“Outside of an election writ period, (substance use surveillance system) updates, and subsequent communications of the updates, vary depending on the data set.

“Full, overall data updates are done on a quarterly basis — that has always been the practice. Quarterly updates do take longer than 2 months after the end of the quarter so this can then affect the posting timeline of the mortality data for the last month of that quarter.”

In an emailed statement, Edmonton-Riverview MLA Lori Sigurdson accused Premier Danielle Smith of lying about addressing the toxic drug crisis.

Smith previously said her government has added 10,000 treatment spaces to provide detox and recovery services for up to 29,000 Albertans every year.

During the 2023 Alberta election, Smith said her government has focused on recovery and treatment while the NDP, which has endorsed supervised consumption sites as one component of care for addiction, would make things worse.

“The human cost of Danielle Smith’s dishonesty and incompetence is heartbreaking,” Sigurdson said in an emailed statement on Monday afternoon.

“While the death toll from preventable drug poisonings was surging, and we should have been mobilizing every resource to respond, Smith was lying to Albertans that she had solved the problem.

“How many Albertans died waiting for help that never came?”

Global News reached out to the premier’s office with a request for comment. However, Smith’s spokesperson referred to William’s statement.

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