True North

Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin is warning that rural communities are being impacted by an uptick in crime and addiction since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Larkin made the comments during a media roundtable on Tuesday morning.

“The first 90 days from March through to early June, no doubt, we saw a significant decline in crime, significant decline in calls for service. And we essentially saw our citizens very much obeying community lockdowns by local public health orders, by provincial orders,” said Larkin about crime in the region. 

“Now, as we’ve traversed out of that, and even though we’re in the second wave of the pandemic, most recently our call volume has increased to normalized levels. Crime, and in particular violent crime, is something that we’re dealing with.”

The Waterloo Region saw 12 violent shootings in 2020, a majority of which were in Kitchener. 

In 2019, the region reported 780 overdoses, 63 of which were fatal. 

According to Larkin, the problem is not only isolated to city centres and urban areas but has negatively impacted nearby rural communities. 

“…the challenges of addiction go beyond any specific boundary. They go beyond any special specific neighborhood – opiate addiction doesn’t discriminate. So we’re seeing it impact the rural communities, we’re seeing rural communities in many ways becoming more dense,” said Larkin. 

“We need to be vigilant. We need to actually make sure that we report crime in rural communities. It’s easier if you’re in Elmira, Baden, New Hamburg because it’s more neighborhood-centric, it’s a little more difficult than some of the rural areas where your neighbour may be a concession down the road.” 

According to health experts, northern and rural Ontario communities are struggling to deal with the opioid epidemic due to a lack of access to services and slow response times. 

A new Public Health Ontario report has revealed a shocking spike in opioid-related deaths since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. 

“In the first 15 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, 695 people died of a confirmed or suspected opioid-related death, representing a 38% increase compared to the 15 weeks immediately preceding the pandemic,” the report reads.

“During the pandemic, fentanyl and stimulants (particularly cocaine) were more commonly direct contributors to these deaths.” 

Projections indicate that there will be a record 2,200 deaths by opioid abuse in 2020 if the weekly rate continues until the end of the year. In 2019, Ontario reported 1,512 opioid overdose deaths. 

“The report shows an increasing number of preventable opioid-related deaths during the pandemic, particularly among young men. It must not be forgotten that each of these deaths represents the loss of an individual who was part of a family, had friends and was a member of a community,” said Chief Coroner for Ontario Dr. Dirk Huyer. 

“There is a need to continue to work together to ensure adequate support and services are in place during the pandemic and beyond, to prevent further deaths.”

Other regions in Canada have seen a worrying uptick in opioid-related overdoses throughout the pandemic. 

In its annual report, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) stated, “Jurisdictions across the country have reported increases in overdose deaths and non-fatal harms related to opioids and other substances, in part due to increasing toxicity of the illegal drug supply since the start of the pandemic.”

According to PHAC data, British Columbia saw over 100 overdose deaths each month from March to August 2020.