IOAD and the meaning of preventable deaths

August 31st is International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD). Between 2016 - 2020, there were more than 21,000 apparent opioid toxicity deaths in Canada. In 2019, one in six deaths of Ontarians 15-24 years of age was opioid related. Yet as a nation we continue to hesitate in taking the bold actions required to save lives and prevent families from being destroyed.

Most of these deaths were accidental and preventable. What does it mean to say that a death is “preventable”?

Back in the day when I was a young lawyer, I was talking to a litigation lawyer about a recent case. A person had died leaving a young family and there was a question about whether there had been medical negligence. 

“So, I guess you are hoping that there was negligence?” I asked. “No” was the answer. I was so surprised. The person was dead; wouldn’t it be good if at least the family was financially secure from a settlement? 

And then the wise explanation. It is so much easier for families to accept a death when they know that nothing could have been done to save their loved one. That it was fate and not a preventable death. 

Welcome to the opioid poisoning crisis; maximizing harms to families and friends of those whose deaths were not prevented.

FAR Canada personally invites you to show your support by attending IOAD commemoration events in Toronto on Tuesday, August 31st:

• Mayor John Tory

CN Tower Roundhouse at Dusk 

• CN Tower will be lit purple

Let’s support our families who have lost loved ones and show our governments that we demand action for those who fear they could be next. More details to follow.

Angie Hamilton