Counting murders by overdose deaths in Canada
Homicide charges following investigations into overdose deaths in Canada can be described as falling into two categories: pre- and post- fentanyl.
The cases W5 found before the current ongoing opioid crisis include the Canadian who had a hand in comedic performer John Belushi’s overdose death in 1982, and three deaths in which manslaughter charges were laid between 1993 and 2008. All three led to convictions, including one upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada.
But starting in 2016, W5 counted a significant uptick: 135 manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death charges being laid by police and prosecutors across Canada.
The open-source investigation began by scouring news and legal databases. The police services in those reports were contacted regarding the number of charges they have laid, and the survey was expanded to include Canada’s largest police services.
Some provided news releases, while others provided statistics, most notably the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), that has laid 63 of the 135 charges counted by W5 since 2016. Fifteen other police services across Ontario laid 25 charges in that time period, making Canada’s most-populous province the national leader in drug-induced homicide charges (65%).
The number of homicide charges being laid in overdose deaths peaked in 2019 with 65, a number that fell by more than half in 2020, and down to 11 in the first ten months of 2021. The OPP told W5 that it hadn’t laid any homicide charges in overdose deaths this year.
The final tally does not include one second-degree murder charge that was laid, and later stayed, against a mother in the 2017 overdose death of a newborn, but it does include one case where a first-degree murder charge was initially laid, then downgraded to manslaughter. That charge was dismissed in that case after the individual pled guilty to drug trafficking charges, a common outcome in many of the cases reviewed by W5.
As many of the cases reviewed by W5 continue to move through the court system, their outcomes will show whether or not the homicide charges actually “stuck” or otherwise had an impact in combating the opioid crisis.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
The pros and cons of discussing mental health issues in the workplace
A group of lawyers has written what they call a groundbreaking book about how mental health is perceived in the legal profession.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Local Spotlight
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.