In Canada’s capital, an opioid epidemic and housing crisis collide

Global News accompanied an Ottawa police officer during a patrol of the city's downtown, an area where the opioid epidemic and housing crisis are colliding.

On a cool Thursday afternoon in Ottawa, veteran police officer Sgt. Avery Flanagan approaches a man hunched over in a downtown parking lot. He has crushed opioids in one hand and a needle in the other.

Flanagan tells the man, who appears to be in his 20s, he can’t use drugs on private property.

“Have you ever overdosed on fentanyl?” asks the officer.

“Twice or three times,” he responds. “You hit the floor, you wake up, you don’t even know that you’ve overdosed.”

“Pretty scary feeling?” asks Flanagan.

“Yeah, pretty scary,” he answers.

Similar encounters unfolded throughout the day as Global News accompanied the officer during a patrol last November of the city’s downtown, an area where the opioid epidemic and housing crisis are colliding and having deadly consequences.

In the two months since, the Public Health Agency of Canada released updated 2023 numbers in December 2023 showcasing the staggering scope of opioid and drug overdoses across the country. That data showed an average of 22 deaths per day from apparent opioid toxicity between the first six months of last year, up five per cent from the same period in 2022.