Belleville declares addiction emergency after latest overdose surge

Mike Juby was outside Bridge Street United Church in Belleville, Ont., on Tuesdayafternoon when people suddenly started dropping to the sidewalk all around him.

There were"ambulances left, right and centre" as paramedics loadedpeople onto stretchers and rushed them to hospital, he recalled.

"It was ugly," Juby said. "They're all my friends. I know every one of them. It's a tough, tough go."

Emergency officials in Belleville say 14 people overdosed in the eastern Ontario city'score between 2 and 4 p.m. Tuesday.

At one point police shut down a section of road and asked residents to avoid going downtown, describing the situation as an "overdose emergency." None of the overdoses proved fatal.

The city said Thursday morning it's had 23 overdoses since 2 p.m. Tuesday and it isdeclaring a state of emergency over the situation.

Tuesday's cluster of overdoses happened along Bridge Street E., surrounding the church where adrop-in centre run by the John Howard Society of Belleville offers food, showers and laundry service for homeless and other vulnerable residents.

The past 24 hours have had a "huge impact" on those why rely on andwork at the site, according to J.J. Cormier, the organization's executive director.

"There were five individuals who were outside, walking on the sidewalk, and all five of them collapsed at the exact same time," Cormiersaid.

"These people are our family, and we're their family."

Juby said watching so many people he knows overdose at the same time was frustrating and scary.

"It's disappointing. It hurts," he said.

"I don't know where it's coming from, but I hope it stops."

'Laced drug' to blame, says minister

A spokesperson forOntario Minister of Health Sylvia Jones said in an emailed statement Thursday afternoon "the overdoses [were]caused by a laced drug in the region" and officials were working to limit its spread.

While harm reduction workers in Ottawa and Toronto have discoveredanimal tranquillizersinlocal drugs, Medical Officer of Health forHastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH) Dr. Ethan Toumisheyhad said Wednesday it wastoo soon to determine exactly what caused Belleville's surge in overdoses.

Toumishey added that while thespike in cases was "particularly high" this week, the problem isn't new.

"It continues to raise the alarm, but the alarm has been ringing for a while now," Toumisheysaid.

All in a Day12:23Police say emergency services in Belleville responded to 14 overdose incidents on Tuesday

Belleville police say an "overdose emergency" is affecting the city's downtown core. Hastings Prince Edward Public Health told us how they're working to tackle that problem.

Leaders in Belleville sounded that alarm in November during an earlier news conference amid another spate ofoverdose calls.

On Tuesday, Mayor Neil Ellis said the city faces a"very serious drug problem, addictions and mental health crisis."

He and police Chief Mike Callaghan saidthe problem istoo big for Belleville to tackle on its own and calledon the provincial government for a plan to help.

"We need funds human resources, capital resources to get in front of this," Ellis said."I don't see anything on the horizon."

State of emergency

On Thursday morning, themayor declared an addiction, mental health and homelessness emergency under provincial law,and extended the call for help to the federal government.

In an interview with CBC News,Ellis said emergency servicesand hospitals in the city are currently "at capacity."

"When you have as many [overdoses] as we did in the last 24 hours, there doesn't seem to be an end to it," he said.

The city needs more mental health counselling,doctors, nurse practitioners and detox centres, but "we don't have any capital or any facilities that that we can turn to," said Ellis, a Liberal MP from 2015 to 2021.

"It's time for us to take actionor come up with a plan, but it's all three levels of government that are going tohave to do this."

WATCH | Belleville, Ont., declares state of emergency:

At least 23 people overdosed in Belleville, Ont., since Tuesday

7 months ago

Duration 2:05

Officials are concerned about a potentially tainted drug supply after almost two dozen overdoses in the span of just a couple days in Belleville, Ont. The city has declared a state of emergency over its mental health, addiction and homelessness crisis.

Less than an hour before this declaration, a spokesperson forOntario's health ministersent CBC a statement that pointed to the province's $3.8-billionRoadmap to Wellness mental health and addictions plan.

The spokespersonsaid Belleville-specific investments include nearly $35 million for mental health and addiction organizations and nearly $2 million to pair health-care workers with police on distress calls.

In a follow-up statement, they said the province's chief medical officer of health and other provincial resources are working with Belleville'shealth unit and checking with nearby units.