Domed deadly overdoses in Canada, but not in Outaouais

The number of deadly overdoses is “relatively stable” in Outaouais, unlike the rate generally down in Canada, according to the integrated health and social services (CISSS) center (CISSS).

The organization identified 40 deaths in connection with overdoses last year, against 34 in 2023 and 45 in 2022.

For the moment, we have not been able to increase the curve and lower our number of deaths in Outaouais. That said, at least, it is not increasing, it remains relatively stable. On this side, this is good news, but it remains worrying because it is still several deaths per year that arise [par] deafexplains the medical specialist in public health at Cisss From the Outaouais, Dre Camille Paquette.

At the country level, the number of deaths linked to opioids fell 17 % in 2024 compared to the year before, which corresponds to 7,146 Canadians who died following an overdose. When you look in the rear view mirror, the figures were 8,623 deaths in 2023 and 3742 in 2019.

Substances that cross the country from west to east

For Dr. Camille Paquette, this difference in figures is explained by the geographical position of the region.

The phenomenon first appeared in the west. He migrated to the east of the country, […] It is as if we probably live a little delay in what can be experienced in the west of the country. So there, it’s just the future that will allow us to know where we are going.

However, she hopes for an imminent drop in figures.

The Director General of the Center for Intervention and Prevention in Toxicania in Outaouais (CIPTO), Yves Séguin, also believes in this same hypothesis.

We saw it in the past years, the crisis began in the West in British Columbia and quietly moved to Alberta, the other western provinces, in Ontario and the suite in Quebec.

We see it, if there is a decrease [dans l’ouest]probably there will be a decrease here, but laterhe says.

In Quebec, in general, deadly overdoses increased, with 645 deaths last year, 536 in 2023 and 314 in 2022, according to the most recent figures of the National Institute of Public Health in Quebec (Inspq).

Various causes

For Mr. Séguin, it would be fairer not to focus only on death cases, because according to him, there are also a lot of cases of hospitalizations related to overdoses. He specifies that the majority of these cases are due to the contamination of substances.

Yves Séguin thinks that the increase in roaming in the region also has something to do with the opioid crisis.

Someone who is in survival, who lives in a tent, may not have the faster reflex to go and have his substance checked or he may hurry in the way of preparing. Or he may have bought his substance from someone he does not know or a new dealer. At that time, it may be something he will take that he has never taken and [c’est comme ça ] that the overdose will be causedhe gives as an example.

The Director General of Cipto However, talks about a drop for this year with nine deaths identified for the moment. Last August, the organization already identified 30 deaths since the beginning of 2024.

Different portrait in Ottawa

In Ottawa, the portrait is rather similar to the Canadian trend. According to data from the Ontario coroner office, 174 cases of death linked to overdoses that were recorded in 2024, against 214 in 2023 and 172 in 2022.

Yves Séguin always believes that we must invest more in awareness and prevention in the field, in particular by offering more services in the reduction of harms or by making more promotion of drug verification services as well as consumer support services.

He also thinks that it would be necessary to have the consumption of opioids to avoid stigmatizations.

With the information of Patrick Foucault and Mathieu Berger