Editor’s note: Approximately 0.2% of fentany entering the UnIted States comes from Canada (10 pounds in 2024), the rest comes from Mexico. 98.5% of the US border patrol’s encounters with migrants are on the US-Mexican border – gleaned from a CNN report using US Government sources.
By Richard Young Megaphone Magazine, Local Journalism Initiative
In response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of heavy tariffs, Canada has appointed former RCMP deputy commissioner Kevin Brosseau as the country’s first “fentanyl czar.”
This role, created to address concerns over fentanyl trafficking across the northern border, aims to ease tensions and avert a potential trade war.
In a statement about the appointment, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Brosseau is being asked to work closely with U.S. counterparts and law enforcement agencies to “accelerate Canada’s efforts to detect, disrupt and dismantle the fentanyl trade.”
The idea that fentanyl is being manufactured on such a large scale right here in the province of B.C., considering the volume of it, is a surprise to many communities. There has been an assumption that the deadly drug was primarily coming from China and Mexico.
So here we go again. Canada is ready to throw billions of dollars into drug enforcement and border security — but isn’t this reminiscent of the failed war on drugs, which has been ongoing for more than 50 years? What about the opioid crisis, declared a public health emergency in B.C. nearly a decade ago? Will chasing the supply and securing borders stop the toxic drug poisonings?
In a 2021 COVID-era article for the Hudson Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, David Asher, who is a senior fellow there, described fentanyl as a “mass murder weapon” utilized by Chinese and Mexican entities. Asher also referred to fentanyl trafficking as “narco-terrorism.”
While border closures during COVID-19 were primarily aimed at controlling the virus, they also disrupted drug supply chains. This led to increased toxicity in street drugs, making the crisis even worse.
Petra Schulz, one of three founding directors of Moms Stop The Harm — a Canadian network of families advocating for harm reduction and drug policy reform — says border security measures are important, but won’t help ease the staggering death toll because its focus is on supply.
Drug users, says Shultz, need rapid access to treatment the day they ask for it. She believes that access to safe supply, in concert with addressing poverty, homelessness and mental health, is the real path forward.
In Canada, more than 85 per cent of overdose deaths are related to unregulated toxic drugs. For opioids in Alberta, it’s a staggering 98 percent.
Shockingly, in B.C., fatalities by drug overdose are the leading cause of death for 10- to 59-year-olds, accounting for more deaths than homicides, suicides, accidents and disease combined.
“Yet, we see political leaders create moral panic over the two per cent while ignoring the other 98,” said Shutlz during a testimony before the House of Commons in 2024.
If this country is going to throw billions of dollars into border security for the purpose of stopping the smuggling of fentanyl, at least half should go into much-needed recovery centres to help people with unwanted addictions.
Both countries need to stop the demand for drugs, not just the supply. Border security is important, to be sure, but stopping the demand is just as important — if not more for a lasting solution.
In an interview with CBC, Shultz said she supports the “four-pillar approach,” which consists of harm reduction, prevention, treatment and enforcement. The approach is currently being approved by the City of Vancouver and according to the city’s website, has been “successfully used” in cities such as Geneva, Zurich, Frankfurt and Sydney.
Richard Young has been a part of Megaphone for eight years, first as a vendor. He is now a member of The Shift peer newsroom as well. He volunteers at Agape Church in Burnaby and is also a “Chinatown ambassador” as part of the Chinatown Community Stewardship Program, fostering a more harmonious community in and around Chinatown.
Top image credit: Richard Young is a member of The Shift peer newsroom and volunteers as a “Chinatown ambassador” where he spends a great deal of time meeting and learning about the Downtown Eastside community. – Garrett James Photo 2016
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