ISSUE/PURPOSE
In 2023–2024, Windsor-Essex County experienced record-high opioid-related emergency visits and deaths, with local rates significantly exceeding provincial rates and which has been a consistent upward trend over the past 10 years. Action is needed to address WEC’s standing relative to Ontario in three key areas: 1) opioid overdoses seen in the Emergency Department, 2) opioid-related deaths, and 3) suspected drug-related deaths (including opioids and other substances). New initiatives aimed at addressing this critical issue are essential and funding opportunities from all levels of government are required in the highest need regions in order to mitigate short and long-term negative impacts of substance use in Ontario and across Canada.
BACKGROUND
The opioid crisis and its related harms continue to present a significant and growing public health challenge in Windsor and Essex County (WEC). In 2024, the region saw 519 Emergency Department (ED) visits due to opioid overdoses, the highest number on record since 2014. This represents more than double the 258 ED visits recorded in 2019. WEC's opioid overdose rate is 11.09 per 10,000 residents, significantly higher than the provincial average of 7.76 per 10,000. This alarming trend highlights the escalating severity of the opioid crisis in the region (Public Health Ontario, 2024). Opioid-related deaths in WEC are also on the rise, with 127 fatalities reported in 2023. This equates to a rate of 28.9 deaths per 100,000 residents, significantly higher than the provincial average of 16.8 per 100,000 (Public Health Ontario, 2024). The opioid-related death rate in WEC has steadily increased from 2019 to 2023, with the second quarter of 2024 showing a rate of 24.7 per 100,000, compared to Ontario's overall rate of 15.1 per 100,000 (Public Health Ontario, 2024).
Additionally, suspected drug-related deaths, including those involving opioids and other substances, have seen increases. In 2023, WEC recorded 175 suspected drug-related deaths, a rate of 3.74 per 10,000 residents, higher than the Ontario average of 2.48 per 10,000 (Public Health Ontario, 2024). Other major Ontario regions, such as Ottawa (2.68 per 10,000) and London-Middlesex (2.52 per 10,000), report lower rates. Preliminary data for 2024 suggests further increases, with 134 suspected drug-related deaths already reported, though this number is expected to rise by 10-20% as additional deaths are confirmed by the Chief Coroner (Public Health Ontario, 2024). Addressing these issues requires a coordinated and comprehensive approach, incorporating initiatives that include harm reduction and substance prevention models.
Innovative drug-checking services, where substances are tested for contaminants, have become an essential tool in harm reduction. These services empower individuals to make informed decisions about their drug use, thereby reducing the risk of overdose and other harmful outcomes. Studies have shown that people who used fentanyl test strips (FTS) were more likely to engage in behaviors that reduce the risk of overdose compared to those who didn’t use them. Specifically, FTS users had an 11% higher rate of daily harm reduction practices and were more likely to carry naloxone, test drug strength, and ask someone to check on them while using (Vickers-Smith, et al., 2025). To ensure these services are effective and sustainable, community partnerships are key. Local governments, public health agencies, and community organizations must collaborate to ensure that drug-checking programs are accessible, well-resourced, and integrated into broader harm reduction strategies. With federal and provincial support, these programs can be scaled and made more accessible to at-risk populations.
While harm reduction and treatment supports are necessary to support clients who are currently using substances, youth substance use prevention models have demonstrated significant success in reducing substance use among adolescents through a comprehensive, community-based approach. These long-term strategies involve engaging local communities in strengthening family dynamics, increasing youth involvement in structured activities, and improving school environments. Such programs have shown a 40% reduction in alcohol and drug use among youth over two decades (Kristjansson et al., 2010). As early substance use is a strong predictor of future addiction problems, mental health disorders, and risky behaviors these strategies, these strategies, while costly, are vital to mitigating the long-term effects of substance use in local communities (Clark, 2017). Enhanced funding directed towards public health units and other community agencies is critical to sustaining and scaling these prevention efforts, providing the resources necessary to implement and adapt evidence-based programs. Without adequate support, communities may lack the capacity to develop or maintain comprehensive prevention strategies, leaving vulnerable youth at higher risk of future substance use issues.
PROPOSED MOTION
Whereas, Windsor-Essex County has been consistently ranked among the areas in Ontario with the highest rates of opioid overdoses presenting in Emergency Departments, as well as significantly higher rates of opioid-related deaths.
Whereas, new and unrecognizable compounds and substances have entered the drug supply, worsening the substance use crisis.
Whereas, Windsor-Essex County’s alcohol-related ED visits and hospitalizations are significantly higher than the provincial average, with emergency department visits rising among youth and young adults, particularly those 24 and under.
Whereas, the Public Health Agency of Canada's Youth Substance Use Prevention Program has previously opened opportunities for community-based funding program that focuses on implementing upstream prevention models for local community agencies.
Now therefore be it resolved That the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health endorses the prioritization of communities which are experiencing disproportionately high overdose rates like Windsor-Essex for the allocation of funding from all levels of government for both upstream (e.g., youth prevention) and downstream services.
FURTHER THAT, the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health supports work of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit to explore new partnership opportunities with local agencies to implement novel drug testing solutions to support enhanced data collection, surveillance, and harm reduction services for people who use drugs.
AND FURTHER THAT, the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health encourages the Public Health Agency of Canada for continued commitment to opening funding streams through one-time grants for Public Health Units and other community agencies in the most impacted regions to support local evidence-based substance use prevention models.
References
Clark, Duncan B., et al. (2017) Adolescent executive dysfunction in daily life: relationships to risks, brain structure and substance use. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 11 (2017): 223.
Health Canada. (2024). Vaping in Canada: What we know. Retrieved from: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/smoking-tobacco/surveys-statistics-research/vaping-what-we-know.html.
Kristjansson, A. L., James, J. E., Allegrante, J. P., Sigfusdottir, I. D., & Helgason, A. R. (2010). Adolescent substance use, parental monitoring, and leisure-time activities: 12-year outcomes of primary prevention in Iceland. Preventive Medicine, 51(2), 168-171
Livingston, J. D. (2020). Structural stigma in health-care contexts for people with mental health and substance use issues: A literature review. Ottawa: Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Public Health Ontario. (2018). Ontario Tobacco Monitoring Report. Retrieved from: https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/Health-Topics/Health-Promotion/Tobacco/OTMR.
Public Health Ontario. (2024). Substance Use and Harms Tool. Retrieved from: https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/Data-and-Analysis/Substance-Use/Substance-Use-Harms-Tool.
Public Health Ontario. (2024). Evidence for Strategies that Adress Substance-Use Related Stigma. Retrieved from: https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/Health-Topics/Health-Promotion/Substance-Use
Vickers-Smith RA, Gelberg KH, Childerhose JE, et al. Fentanyl Test Strip Use and Overdose Risk Reduction Behaviors Among People Who Use Drugs. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(5):e2510077. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.10077
Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (2025). Opioid Surveillance Dashboard for Windsor and Essex County. Retrieved from: https://www.wechu.org/reports/opioids.