GREATER SUDBURY, Ont. — Ontario Liberal Party Leader Steven Del Duca made a stop on the campaign trail in Sudbury Sunday afternoon and spoke about the opioid crisis that has taken so many lives.
“Today I'm here to talk specifically about a very, very troubling crisis that exists here in Sudbury, across northern Ontario, and frankly, across all of Ontario,” said Del Duca who stated the Ford government cut $355 million that was budgeted towards investing in mental health and addictions.
“[The City of Greater Sudbury] literally had the Ford government turn their back on what Sudbury needs and what communities — again across Ontario — need in this regard,” Del Duca said.
See related: Ontario's highest opioid death rate is in Sudbury District again
See also: 2020 North Bay-Parry Sound opioid deaths fifth highest in the province
Del Duca outlined a plan from the Liberal party he said would help mitigate the issue.
“First of all, in general around mental health and addictions as a government, we would invest $3 billion in new money to help support those who need help the most,” he announced. “This would also include 1,000 new mental-health professionals to specifically target at-risk youth and our publicly funded schools.
“More specifically, about the opioid crisis, over the next four years, we would invest $300 million in new money to help with treatment and intervention for those who need it."
See related: 'No playbook' for opioid crisis and related social issues
See also: Public Health Sudbury mulling team approach as opioid deaths soar
Del Duca also said the Liberal party will work on reversing the Ford government’s actions by lifting the arbitrary cap on consumption sites and providing 24/7 funding to key sites in communities that have been hit the hardest by the opioid epidemic — while also providing funding for dealing with needle debris.
See also: Should Ontario explore B.C.'s proposal to decriminalize personal drug possession?
In an interview with Sudbury.com, Del Duca said that should the Progressive Conservatives be re-elected in Ontario, the Liberal party will never stop pushing for progress.
“I think it's important for us to respect what happens in a democracy. We will never stop pushing for the kind of progress that we believe in,” Del Duca said. “While I believe, as an Ontarian, that I am practical enough and responsible enough to work with almost anyone I know, at the same time that Doug Ford has made it clear he does not have the capacity to lead this province, particularly at this moment in time.
“And so while I am more focused on the outcomes versus the personalities, I do know that Doug Ford is the wrong person to lead Ontario and he needs to be shown that.”
