THUNDER BAY — The Ontario Chamber of Commerce has issued a call for action against the province's escalating substance use and overdose crisis.
A policy brief released Monday said Ontario requires evidence-based, community-informed solutions for an addiction crisis that has left businesses at the frontlines of problems they are not equipped to address.
"As a result this has created much frustration. Local chambers of commerce have reported increased incidents of trespassing and disruptions to business operations from people experiencing mental health challenges and substance dependencies," the lobby group said.
Charla Robinson, president of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, said businesses in the city are among those that are grappling with the issue.
"Local businesses are struggling with rising security costs and decreasing customer traffic. This brief calls upon the decision-makers to think outside the silos of any one particular addictions management approach, and urges the collection of better data to drive evidence-based solutions."
As the OCC paper notes, in the Thunder Bay area the opioid toxicity mortality rate in 2022 was 77 per 100,000 population, by far the highest in the province.
"Thunder Bay has an opioid-related mortality rate that's over four times higher than the provincial average," Robinson said.
"So it's definitely being seen here, increased trespassing, disruptions to business, concerns about staff and customer safety, the need to invest in security, and then, you know, the overall cost of crime, theft, vandalism. Those are all things that are being faced by businesses each and every day. So it is a business issue as well as a social issue."
The OCC report states that substance use and overdoses are impacting Northern Ontario, remote, and rural communities particularly hard, and that the crisis is magnified in First Nations where opioid-related toxicity deaths nearly tripled between 2019 and 2021.
"We don't have the same baseline of services available, so it just exacerbates the challenge," Robinson said.
According to the policy paper, substance use and opioid overdoses are also more likely to occur among people working in specific industries, including construction, forestry, mining and hospitality.
It's calling for a response that's rooted in evidence-based solutions and an understanding of what has worked in Ontario and in other jurisdictions.
"Lack of consistent data hampers direct comparison of the provincial outcomes on treatment and recovery, making it challenging to ascertain the efficacy of each strategy," the paper states.
When asked if the chambers believe Ontario is missing the mark in comparison with what other provinces are doing to deal with the crisis, Robinson replied "I don't think it's about missing the mark. It's about making sure that we're looking to different jurisdictions to see how they're managing things . . . It's really about getting better engaged, and understand what's working and what's not working . . . Let's look and see what their data says as well."
The OCC feels Ontario "must better engage and reflect the concerns of businesses and local communities," and is recommending three specific actions:
- A review of the operating procedures and practices of existing interventions to reduce the unintended harm that can be caused to communities, while ensuring the crisis is managed through a public health approach that prevents mortality, improves recovery outcomes, reduces stigma and respects the dignity of all people
- Improved data collection that enables direct comparisons of provincial outcomes to ensure that Ontario and other jurisdictions can learn from one another
- Support for both a strategy and a culture of collaboration – with industry, government, health care and community organizations working together to mitigate the impacts of the crisis on people and communities everywhere
The OCC warns that Ontario is projected to experience over 3,000 drug poisoning deaths – or an average of more than eight fatalities a day – for the fifth consecutive year.
