Lisa Vollans-Leduc, the Yukon’s NDP candidate for the Sept. 20 federal election, is weighing in on the opioid crisis in the Yukon following a report from chief territorial coroner Heather Jones earlier this week.

“In the Yukon, territorial MLAs worked together in a minority government, guided by the principle of harm reduction and compassion, to build our first supervised consumption site – which is slightly delayed,” Vollans-Leduc said Wednesday.

“Just imagine if there was a partner at the federal level. But instead of working on solutions in a minority government with the NDP, the Trudeau Liberals saw an opportunity for more power. It’s shameful.”

The Yukon’s chief coroner said Tuesday there have been 14 opioids-related deaths in 2021 alone in the territory, and 47 deaths over the past six years, Vollans-Leduc noted.

“Despite the obvious harm that these drugs are causing and the shocking death toll that they’ve caused, the Trudeau Liberals have failed to effectively respond to this crisis,” she said.

“Yukon needs a strong federal partner to treat this crisis like the emergency it is.”

A news release accompanied Vollans-Leduc’s comments. The federal NDP said the opioids crisis across Canada “has devastated thousands of families.

“This crisis deserves immediate action so more lives aren’t lost needlessly,” the statement said.

“Across Canada, 17 Canadians die every day from opioid-related causes. Tens of thousands of families have tragically lost parents, partners, siblings, and children to the out-of-control opioid crisis.”

The NDP said it’s committing to declaring a public health emergency and to working with all levels of government, health experts and community members to end the criminalization and stigma of drug addiction, “so that people struggling with addiction in the Yukon can get the help they need without fear of arrest, while getting tough on the real criminals – those who traffic in and profit from illegal drugs.

“We’ll work with the territory and health professionals to create a safe supply of medically regulated alternatives to toxic street drugs, support overdose prevention sites and expand access to treatment on demand for people struggling with addiction,” the party said.

“We will also launch an investigation into the role drug companies may have played in fueling the opioid crisis, and seek meaningful financial compensation from them for the public costs of this crisis.”