WINNIPEG -- RCMP officers in Manitoba are now carrying naloxone antidote kits to deal with an increase in opioid drug use.
Officials have distributed more than 1,000 kits containing nasal spray that will be used in the event someone comes in contact with fentanyl -- the highly potent and addictive opioid estimated to be up to 100 times stronger than morphine.
Mounties say the move was done in response to a growing public health crisis of synthetic opioid use in the province.
They say the kits are important because officers act as medical first responders in many remote areas.
The distribution comes after Winnipeg police announced plans in October for its officers to carry the overdose antidote following three suspected fentanyl deaths.
Figures show such deaths have nearly doubled in Manitoba over two years, with nine confirmed fatal overdoses in the province so far in 2016 involving fentanyl.
"We are very aware of the presence of fentanyl in Manitoba communities, and we are prepared for the enforcement piece of this puzzle," Cpl. Scott Hanson, head of Manitoba RCMP D Division's synthetic drug operation, said in a statement Thursday.
"However, we cannot arrest our way out of this issue. We are also focusing on the prevention, education and harm reduction elements related to the use of fentanyl."
Pharmacists Manitoba has also called on the province to cover the cost of naloxone.
Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen said Thursday's announcement by the RCMP of an agreement with China to try to stop the flow of illicit fentanyl into Canada will help the situation in Manitoba.
The Mounties said commissioner Bob Paulson and the vice-minister of China's public security ministry met this week and agreed to boost enforcement efforts to disrupt the flow of the drug and other opioids.
Discussions to formalize joint investigations will begin next week.
Goertzen said co-operation with China was one of the priorities put forward by the provinces at the Ottawa summit he attended last week with federal Health Minister Jane Philpott and other provincial ministers.
"Is it going to be foolproof and waterproof in terms of stopping the importation? Not likely," he said. "But I think that it's going to be a lot better than where we are right now where we don't have enough vigorous enforcement."
Goertzen said he was "cautiously optimistic" Philpott would follow through on other provincial suggestions as well, including a national ban on pill presses and increased authority for Canada Border Services Agency officers to check envelopes at lower weights than usual to catch powdered fentanyl in the mail. (CJOB, Winnipeg Free Press, The Canadian Press)
