Saskatoon mayor welcomes help as province launches crisis operations centre in response to drug overdoses

The Saskatchewan government is stepping in to organize a response to a spike in overdoses in Saskatoon. 

The Saskatoon Fire Department reported responding to 67 overdoses and one suspicious death from March 9 to March 11.

On Wednesday, the government activated the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC) in response to the ongoing crisis. The province says the move will enhance co-ordination between health organizations and reduce gaps in care.

Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block welcomed the extra resources and said the surge in overdoses puts pressure on fire and police resources.

"Working in a unified fashion with all of the partners is a very helpful approach that I think will allow us to be more nimble as we not only attempt to stop the flow of that drug to anyone trying to access it, but also to make sure that we're getting to the bottom of how it got here in the first place," Block said in an interview.

She asked city residents to keep an eye out for people in trouble and talk about the crisis with family and friends.

"I'm urging people to take this very seriously," Block said.

"Please talk about it with your kids and talk about it over the water cooler at work, whatever you need to do to make sure people are aware that this is something different. This is not just an extension of some of the issues that we are facing as a city. This is something new."

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health issued an overdose alert on Wednesday, warning of dangerous batch of fentanyl that's suspected to have driven the wave of overdoses.

Prairie Harm Reduction reported testing the substance, describing it as having a brownish red colour with unusual, delayed effect that causes sleepiness followed by unconsciousness.

The alert remains in effect until March 17.

This alert follows a previous one, which was issued on March 1 after the Saskatoon Fire Department responded to nearly 50 overdoses in the prior week. 

Overall, the fire department has responded to more than 300 overdoses since Feb. 25.

The advisory states that overdose risk can be minimized by carrying a take home naloxone kit, which can be used to help counteract an overdose. With the batch in question, it says that overdoses are requiring four to five doses of naloxone, along with additional oxygen and paramedic assistance.

Free naloxone kits are available at health and community organizations.