Ontario First Nations face disproportionate opioid harm: study

New report finds opioid deaths among Ontario First Nations people tripled from 2019-2022. Researchers cite generational trauma & a lack of access to treatment.

A landmark study has exposed the severe and disproportionate impact of the opioid crisis on First Nations people in Ontario, revealing death rates that vastly exceed those of the non-Indigenous population.

The collaborative report from the Chiefs of Ontario and the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network details an escalating public health emergency, driven by a toxic drug supply and compounded by systemic inequities and intergenerational trauma.

Alarming and escalating death toll

The data presents a stark picture of the crisis’s evolution.

The 36-page report ‘Opioid Use, Related Harms, and Access to Treatment Among First Nations in Ontario’, says the rate of opioid-related deaths for First Nations people in the province tripled between 2019 and 2022. The year 2022 marked a particularly devastating peak, with First Nations people dying at a rate nine times higher than non-First Nations individuals – 12.8 deaths per 10,000 people compared to 1.4. Over just 2021 and 2022, nearly 400 First Nations lives were lost to overdose.

Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict responded to the findings with a sobering acknowledgment.

“Well, unfortunately, it’s not something that we already didn’t know,” he said.

He further explained that the research “sheds a light onto one of the most pressing issues of our time. Far too many people – both First Nations and non-First Nations – are tragically losing their lives to opioids.”

According to Health Canada statistics, nearly 51,000 Canadians have died of an apparent opioid overdose between 2016 and September 2024. That’s roughly 16 every single day.

The crisis also manifests in hospital visits, with First Nations people ten times more likely to be admitted for opioid-related toxicity in 2023.

Root causes and geographic disparities

The report goes beyond statistics to analyze the underlying factors fueling the crisis. Tara Gomes, the program director for the policy research network, pointed to deep-seated historical trauma as a key driver.

“There is intergenerational trauma from the residential school system and from colonization,” Gomes said.

“Those impacts are long-lasting and that can lead to patterns of substance use that can lead to people accessing the illicit drug supply in different ways.”

Significant geographic disparities were also identified. First Nations individuals living outside their home communities face even greater risks, being twice as likely as those living within their communities to visit a hospital for an opioid-related toxicity. Gomes highlighted the challenges for remote areas.

“Northern and more remote communities face a lot of difficulties just because of their geographic spread, in terms of trying to provide access to safe spaces, to use drugs or to get treatment,” Gomes said.

Concurrently, the report notes a decline in opioid prescriptions for pain management in these regions.

A path forward: First Nations-led solutions and advocacy

Despite the troubling findings, the research offers a glimmer of hope and a clear direction for action. Since a previous report in 2023, hospitalization rates have decreased and death rates have stabilized, suggesting that targeted interventions can have an effect.

Benedict emphasized the critical importance of supporting community-led initiatives.

“We need more resources, not fewer, to protect our people, safeguard our future, and provide the support essential for healing,” he said.

“First Nation-led programming initiatives are having great success.”

Benedict also called for a shift in policy, arguing that the criminal justice approach has failed.

“The decades-long war on drugs has not worked, especially for First Nations people who are already overrepresented in the criminal justice system,” he said.

Benedict’s advocacy also extends to law enforcement funding.

“We’re lobbying the federal government to say ‘Look, our police services are dealing with a wide variety of issues... including organized crime that’s bringing opioids into communities and wreaking havoc’. We need police services to be an essential service,” he said.

Representatives told CTV News that the Chiefs of Ontario plans to continue its research to assess the adequacy of publicly funded treatment programs and track community-declared states of emergency.

Read the full report here.