Time for national registry tracking opioid deaths

Ottawa is not well-placed to act directly in health-care delivery, but could better support provinces. It could make funding conditional on them meeting minimum access standards for opioid agonist therapy (OAT), the most well-established treatment for people with opioid use disorder.

Dr. Joss Reimer, Canada’s chief public health officer, pictured June 15, 2026, speaking at a press conference in Ottawa. We don’t know the number of people we are trying to help with opioid addiction, writes Dr. Vincent Lam, making it impossible to answer the core question: are we doing a better job of preventing overdose deaths? The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY VINCENT LAM

July 6, 2026

TORONTO—On June 15, the Public Health Agency of Canada reported a 23 per cent decrease in opioid-related deaths in 2025 compared to 2024. The report was quick to point out the numbe...

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