Report Shows Disproportionate Impact of Opioid Crisis on First Nations in Alberta
Report Shows Disproportionate Impact of Opioid Crisis on First Nations in Alberta
“There should be somebody saying, ‘what are we doing wrong here?’ And there is nobody saying that.”
A version of this story was first published in Alberta Native News.
First Nations people continue dying of drug poisoning at a disproportionate rate compared to the non-First Nations population, according to the latest surveillance report from the Alberta government and the Alberta First Nations Information Governance Centre.
Despite making up just 3.6% of the population in Alberta, First Nations people represent 20% of all apparent unintentional opioid poisoning deaths in the province from 2016 to 2022, the May 2024 report found.
That percentage increased from 14% of all unintentional opioid poisoning deaths in 2016 to 24% in 2022.
For First Nations people, the rate of apparent unintentional opioid poisoning per 100,000 people reached a height of 224 in 2021, compared to 26 for the non-First Nations population, before declining to 205 in 2022, compared to 24 for the non-First Nations population.
This eight percent decline in the opioid poisoning rate among the First Nations population, the report noted, is still within the survey’s margin of error, and occurs within the context of a 366% increase overall from 2016 to 2022. By contrast, the rate increased 113% for non-First Nations people in the same time frame.
Dr. Esther Tailfeathers, a family physician at the Blood Tribe Medical Clinic on the Kainai reserve in Standoff, Alta., told Alberta Native News that the report shows the UCP government’s approach to the drug poisoning crisis is a failure.
In 2019, the UCP’s first year in power, there was an “immediate spike in mortality” for First Nations people who experienced drug poisoning, Dr. Tailfeathers noted, with the rate per 100,000 people increasing to 70 from 62, while the rate decreased for non-First Nations people to 11 from 16.
From 2019 to 2021, the opioid poisoning mortality rate skyrocketed for First Nations people to 224 from 70—a 219%—whereas for non-First Nations people it increased to 26 from 11—a 136% increase.
“There should be somebody saying, ‘what are we doing wrong here?’ And there is nobody saying that,” said Tailfeathers.
In 2022, 41% of unintentional opioid overdose deaths among First Nations people were in Edmonton and 23% were in Calgary. For non-First Nations people, 36% occurred in Edmonton and 37% in Calgary.
Eight per cent of accidental opioid poisoning deaths among First Nations people occurred in Lethbridge, with another 8% occurring elsewhere in Alberta Health Services’ South Zone, which includes Blood Tribe. For non-First Nations people, those figures were 4% and 1%, respectively.
Fentanyl’s prominence as the substance causing overdoses among First Nations has increased over the six years examined in the report.
In 2016, 44% of accidental opioid overdoses among First Nations people were caused by fentanyl, compared to 66% for the non-First Nations population. By 2022, that figure was 96% for First Nations and 94% for non-First Nations.
Meanwhile, the provincial government remains committed to its recovery-focused approach to addressing the drug poisoning crisis while Premier Danielle Smith spreads misinformation about harm reduction measures, such as safe supply.
Dr. Tailfeathers notes that safe supply already exists for pharmaceutical opioids and has been proven to reduce overdoses substantially, but the premier doesn’t appear interested in engaging with experts on this subject, with fatal consequences for First Nations people.
Said Tailfeathers:
This government not only doesn’t care that the mortality rate is rising, but they’re very negligent in the health care and delivery of care to Indigenous people.
If I was a chief or a group of chiefs, I would probably look at a class action suit against this government, because Indigenous people are dying in great numbers and nobody is alarmed by it.
In a statement to APTN News, Hunter Baril, press secretary for Addiction and Mental Health Minister Dan Williams, blamed the federal government for the disproportionately high rate of drug poisoning among First Nations people.
“Unfortunately, the federal government has ignored their responsibility of providing care for First Nations, which has left a gap in their ability to access cultural-based treatment and recovery,” Baril wrote. “Recognizing this, our government is investing more than $180 million to support the building of five recovery communities in partnership with Indigenous communities.”
The government has recovery communities slated for the Blood Tribe, Enoch Cree Nation, Siksika and Tsuut’ina lands. It’s unclear where the fifth community Baril referenced is located.
The Blood Tribe facility, according to the Government of Alberta website, is under construction. But Tailfeathers, who lives nearby, says that’s incorrect.
“There’s nothing. There’s not even a shovel in the ground. There’s been no infrastructure development. It’s like a promise with nothing but an empty field,” she said.
Even when the recovery centre is built, it will take additional time and funds to hire and train local staff, and develop programming.
“There’s not been any consultation or engagement with the community on what they want to see as part of their treatment center or part of the treatment program,” Tailfeathers added.
Read Alberta Opioid Response Surveillance Report: First Nations Peoples in Alberta in full here.
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Some of us are screaming about this…apparently and obviously on deaf ears. Speaking with a fellow downtown Medicine Hat…’they would rather see us die than see us. We are not disposable people.’ The lies are as huge as the deaths. I am ashamed to be part of this human race.