Toronto's top doctor is calling the opioid overdose crisis a drug toxicity epidemic and is pushing for an empathetic health response as officials release preliminary annual data on the city's overdose deaths.Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto's chief medical officer of health, says says the city needs to respond to the opioid crisis with 'empathy, care and compassion.
In a statement, the city's chief medical officer of health Dr. Eileen de Villa called the continued loss of life "devastating," adding the issue is a "human tragedy that demands we respond with empathy, care and compassion."Canada's opioid crisis is prompting calls for more research into the long-term harms of opioid abuse in order to better equip the health-care system and help people recover and heal.