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The new study on opioid use by 15- to 24-year-olds, being released today, is a cause for alarm, says Tara Gomes, lead of the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network and a scientist at Unity Health Toronto.
The study found that emergency-room visits for opioid overdoses among 15- to 24-year-olds quadrupled from 69 in the second quarter of 2014 to 297 visits in the second quarter of 2021. Deaths tripled from 21 per quarter in 2014 to 58 in the first quarter of 2021, although there was a drop to 29 deaths in the second quarter of 2021. It’s unclear to researchers whether the decline is part of a meaningful trend.
Only half of the 15- to 24-year-olds who died had an opioid-use disorder, which means the other half were likely experimenting with drugs or using them recreationally before dying. Almost all of the opioid-related deaths in young people were linked to toxic, illicit fentanyl.
New national data reveal that more than 7,300 people, or 20 individuals a day, died as a result of an opioid overdose in Canada last year. According to the Special Advisory Committee on the Epidemic of Opioid Overdoses, it’s a 9-per-cent reduction from 2021, but still represents a major public health crisis.
Ambulance crew members walk through the ambulance bay after delivering a patient to Mount Sinai Hospital on Jan. 3, 2022.COLE BURSTON/Reuters
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Vladimir Putin says Wagner mutiny served Russia’s enemies
Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling the weekend uprising led by Yevgeny Prigozhin an attempt to push Russia into civil war.
Prigozhin and his Wagner private military company left the frontlines of the war in Ukraine late Friday and swiftly captured the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don before launching a lightning push up the M-4 highway toward Moscow on Saturday. The uprising ended a few hours later when Prigozhin accepted a deal that saw him and his men reportedly offered safe passage to Belarus. A jet linked to Prigozhin arrived in Belarus from Russia on Tuesday, believed to be carrying him to exile.
The events over the weekend are widely considered proof of Russia’s vulnerability both on the home front and in its war on Ukraine, even according to Russian media. Western leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have called the uprising an internal struggle that is Russia’s to solve. Putin said the West is “rubbing its hands and dreaming” at the prospect of Russia descending into chaos. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said there would be an investigation into whether Western intelligence agencies played a role in the Wagner mutiny.
Olivia Chow narrowly wins Toronto mayoral by-election
Olivia Chow will become Toronto’s next mayor, winning a by-election that will see her lead a city facing a housing affordability crisis, concerns about public safety and troubled finances.
“If you ever questioned your faith in a better future, and what we can do with each other, for each other, tonight is your answer,” she said. “Thank you to the people of Toronto for the trust you placed in me, and the mandate for change as your new mayor,” Chow told the crowd on Monday night.
The 1990s-era city councillor and later NDP MP has fended off a late-campaign surge from Ana Bailão, a former deputy mayor for housing under John Tory, and will become the first racialized woman to lead Canada’s most diverse city.
She has pledged to work on affordability issues, build housing and seek more money from higher levels of government. She is also ready to raise Toronto’s property tax, which is the lowest in the region. She has not been more specific other than to say that any increase will be “modest,” arguing that the city must determine its needs before setting the tax rate. She also promised to increase the vacant home tax and raise the land transfer tax on homes priced above $3-million.
- Marcus Gee: Olivia Chow’s mayoral win in Toronto is the culmination of a long and often trying odyssey
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Also on our radar
Canada Soccer’s general secretary denies bankruptcy considerations, acknowledges financial issues: The general secretary of Canada Soccer insisted on Monday evening that the organization was not considering bankruptcy, contradicting news reports it was mulling the move to escape the dire financial straits it has been in since the men’s national team qualified for last year’s FIFA World Cup, and calling earlier conversations hypothetical.
David Johnston files final report on foreign interference: David Johnston filed his final – and confidential – report on foreign interference to the Prime Minister yesterday, ending his contentious term as special rapporteur and following through on his pledge to submit a final report before the end of June.
Forest fire centre declares 2023 worst year for Canadian wildfires: Canada surpassed the record for area burned by wildfires in a single year yesterday. Currently 490 fires are burning nationally, with 255 of them considered to be out of control.
Prime Minister’s Office key target of record lobbying, watchdog reports: There was a record amount of federal lobbying last year, with a 19-per-cent increase compared with the previous year. The Prime Minister’s Office was lobbied 1,602 times, including with Mr. Trudeau participating, compared with 1,117 times the previous year, reflecting a concentration of decision-making power on key issues in the PMO.
Petro-Canada issues may be ‘tip of the iceberg’ after Suncor cybersecurity incident: Experts say the cyberattack targeting Suncor Energy Inc. may be the most significant cybersecurity breach of an oil and gas company in Canadian history, after days of public speculation and complaints from customers about an inability to use credit or debit cards at the company’s chain of Petro-Canada gas stations in multiple major Canadian cities.
Fighting erupts in Sudan’s southeast after RSF takes base of police brigade in Khartoum: Sudan’s army confirmed yesterday that the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had taken the main base of a well-equipped police brigade in Khartoum. Local activists said at least 15 civilians had been killed in the fighting, and more than 80 had been seriously wounded.
Morning markets
European shares struggled to maintain positive momentum in early trading today after Asian stocks got a boost from China’s government saying it would support the economy, as investors focused on concerns about the economic outlook for Europe and the United States.
Japan’s Nikkei share average slumped to its longest losing streak of the year, ending the day down 0.49 per cent at 32,538.33. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 1.9 per cent.
In early trading, the FTSE in London slipped 0.11 per cent while the DAX in Frankfurt lost 0.08 per cent and the CAC 40 in Paris declined 0.07 per cent.
The Canadian dollar traded at 76.09 U.S. cents
What everyone’s talking about
After the Wagner rebellion, Putin’s rivals are likely eyeing his throne
”More ominous for Mr. Putin, Mr. Prigozhin’s rebellion could well have been assisted, and even organized, by forces close to the Kremlin or by members of Russia’s domestic security agency, the FSB, who blame Mr. Putin for allowing the Ukraine war to drag on. Even if this is not the case, the fact that Mr. Prigozhin publicly defied Mr. Putin so flagrantly, and lived to tell the tale, could inspire new attempts to overthrow Russia’s top leadership.” - Nina L. Khrushcheva
The population of Vancouver’s West Point Grey hasn’t changed in decades. That no-growth history will soon – finally – end
”The extent of the transformation on the Jericho Lands may seem jarring to some but it is the sort of scale that can start shifting the equation on Canada’s housing deficit.” - The Editorial Board
Today’s editorial cartoon
Illustration by Brian Gable
Living better
Jerri Carson always loved to sew. By the time she was a teenager she even started making her own outfits – purchasing used, vintage clothes and redesigning them. Eventually she began restyling old clothes for her daughters and other family members too. She writes about the histories she has unlocked through her sewing, making a case for the environmental and sentimental value of upcycling clothes from yesteryear.
Moment in time: June 27, 1860
The running of the Queen's Plate horse race in Toronto on June 26, 1983.John McNeill/The Globe and Mail
First Queen’s Plate
In a pastoral setting on the fringes of Toronto – now a bustling neighbourhood in the city’s west end – Don Juan became the first horse to cross the finish line in the newly minted Queen’s Plate. The race was founded in 1860 when Toronto postmaster T. C. Patteson enlisted the help of Toronto Turf Club president Casimir Gzowski to solicit Queen Victoria for a royal blessing (and prize money). Patteson, a British expat, sought to burnish the reputation of horse racing in the city by establishing a high-society event. The Queen assented, granting a purse of 50 guineas, a now-defunct gold currency. The first Queen’s Plate was held in heats over a distance of one mile before becoming a single race of a mile and a quarter, and today the winner is awarded $1-million. Canada’s highest-profile equine event is the longest continuously run horse race in North America, preceding the Belmont Stakes in the United States by seven years. The event became known as the King’s Plate upon the accession of Edward VII, but reverted to its original name when Queen Elizabeth took the throne. In keeping with convention, this summer it will be run as the King’s Plate, for the first time since 1952. Ian Morfitt
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