Like many communities, Chatham-Kent is experiencing an opioid crisis, as it’s estimated that the municipality had 15 opioid toxicity deaths in 2020, nearly triple from the previous year.

During their meeting tonight, Chatham-Kent council will discuss a motion from councillor Amy Finn, which calls on the federal government to declare the overdose crisis a national public health emergency and that the crisis be met with the same urgency observed in the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finn’s motion also calls on the federal government to decriminalize the possession of all drugs for personal use.