Advocates say more needs to be done as Manitoba sees more drug-related deaths

Manitoba is seeing a rise in the number of drug-related deaths in the province. Advocates say unless more is done to make the province’s drug supply safer, some neighbourhoods could see a greater loss of life.

Memories of her son are scattered across Arlene Last-Kolb’s home. It’s been ten years since she lost her son Jessie from Fentanyl.

“He was very special; he was 24 when he passed away. He worked for us, we have our own business, and he just lived down the street from us. We were incredibly close; we saw him every single day until we didn’t,” explained Last-Kolb.

“Most of the families, almost all of the families that I knew including our son, was in a home or apartment or in their parents’ basement.”

Manitoba’s drug crisis has only gotten worse since then.

The province’s Chief Medical Examiner’s office updated the number of drug-related deaths that occurred in 2022, with it now showing 467 people died in that year.

Another 445 Manitobans died in 2023.

“We have to include safer drugs. Our drugs are toxic,” said Last-Kolb.

“In 10 years we are going to look back and say ‘Wow, boy did we get that wrong, how come we didn’t do safe supply in a much grander scale?’”

Manitoba’s Minister Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Bernadette Smith says the province is looking to invest in harm reduction initiatives, but didn’t provide specifics as to which initiatives, if any are reflected in the upcoming budget.

“We are working to open our first supervised-consumption site,” said Smith. “We are getting some drug testing machines online.”