The Alberta government is setting up a 14-member commission with a $30-million budget to deal with the skyrocketing numbers of deaths caused by overdoses of fentanyl and other opioids. The commission will make recommendations to the minister on how to corral and coordinate resources and fight what the government is declaring a public health crisis. The government remains reluctant to declare the crisis a public health emergency, as British Columbia has done, because that carries legal implications officials say are not required. They are being asked to come up with recommendations on how to best spend the $30 mllion allocated towards fighting the crisis. Fentanyl killed 113 people in Alberta in the first three months of this year and 363 people in 2016.

Source: CBC News May 31, 2017 16:44 UTC