With the toxic drug crisis bringing a spike in overdose calls in Saskatoon, the province is trying to clarify what we know about the death toll so far.
A provincial emergency operations centre was activated earlier this month to respond to the toxic drug crisis in Saskatoon, following a surge in emergency calls in the city responding to overdoses, and a wave of alerts warning about toxic batches of drugs circulating.
On Tuesday, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) came forward saying nine people died of suspected overdoses in Saskatoon in the last month.
The following day, Saskatoon’s Prairie Harm Reduction expressed concern the number may be underreported, citing a figure of 58 deaths in the last year.
But the Ministry of Justice says the legitimate sense of urgency from the public to outline the scope of the problem may be complicating the picture.
Based on publicly available data from the provincial coroner, the number of overdose deaths may be close to 58, but not for Saskatoon alone — for the entire province.
The provincial coroner reported the total number of suspected and confirmed drug toxicity deaths in Saskatchewan over January and February was 49.
Adding to that province-wide figure the nine suspected overdose deaths reported by the SPSA for Saskatoon in March, would bring the total to 58 — although that’s a combination of local and provincial numbers.
In an email to CTV News Wednesday evening, the Ministry of Justice cautioned the data from the coroner’s office is preliminary, so the number of deaths listed as “suspected” overdoses could change over time.
“The Coroner’s Service awaits the results of toxicology and other reports before they can confirm a cause of death. As such, all of these numbers are subject to change,” a ministry spokesperson said.
The province’s emergency operations centre is expected to help coordinate the response to the surge in urgent medical crises in the city.
The Ministry of Health and Saskatchewan Health Authority have also moved to provide additional kits to Saskatoon organizations, and others have arranged to train local businesses on how to administer the life-saving medication.
