WHEREAS the drug overdose crisis, made worse by the increasingly toxic and unpredictable unregulated drug supply, continues to have devastating impacts and cause significant harms on communities and families across Canada;
AND WHEREAS Ottawa, like many Canadian cities, has seen a significant increase in the harms of fatal and non-fatal overdoses since the start of the pandemic and these rates have remained elevated;
AND WHEREAS this complex issue is compounded by interrelated challenges of increased mental health concerns and an increase in the number of people needing homelessness services in the community, therefore requiring a broad multi-faceted response;
AND WHEREAS Ottawa Public Health, along with a large network of partners, including the City’s Community and Social Services Department, community health, social and housing services organizations, people with lived and living experience of substance use, hospitals, pharmacies, emergency services (police, paramedics and fire), mental health, substance use health and addictions service providers, and the regional coroner’s office, have been working together on multiple coordinated and interconnected strategies and action plans to help reduce harms from substance use and save lives, including but not limited to the Ottawa Community Action Plan, the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan and the 10 Year Housing and Homeless Plan 2020-2030;
AND WHEREAS the pandemic has further highlighted the need to address the inequitable access to community resources and reinforced the knowledge that to improve the health and wellness of individuals and communities, it is necessary to address root causes of ill health such as adverse events in early childhood development, poverty, lack of housing, racism, colonialism, and other factors that influence health;
AND WHEREAS Ottawa Public Health and the Ottawa Board of Health recognize that this is a crisis and there is a need for further actions to address these issues and respond to community needs, in collaboration with community and partners;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health unit direct the Medical Officer of Health and the team at Ottawa Public Health to work with their various partners to:
- Increase public awareness and understanding of the work that is underway, through multiple coordinated and interconnected strategies and action plans;
- Further develop a comprehensive, multi-sector overdose response strategy to address and respond to the drug overdose crisis, its contributing factors, and its unintended consequences on people and communities; and
- Increase the type of data available as well as the timeliness of the data published on Ottawa Public Health’s Mental Health, Addictions and Substance Use Health Dashboard to better inform policy decisions and the planning, development and coordination of services and interventions.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health unit request that the Medical Officer of Health bring forward a report to the Board on work to enhance the multi-sector Overdose Response Strategy and the Mental Health, Addictions and Substance Use Health Dashboard.