Ontario Is Making Naloxone Kits Available In 'At-Risk' Workplaces & Here's What That Means

The Ontario Government has announced a new program that will make naloxone kits available for free to any business deemed to be an "at-risk" setting for staff witnessing or experiencing an opioid overdose.

Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development Minister Monte McNaughton made the announcement on Wednesday morning at a Toronto bar, as the government hinted bars, nightclubs and construction sites are the main settings they are targeting with this initiative.

"In 2021, 2,819 people died from opioid-related causes in Ontario – the highest number on record and up from 366 in 2003," the government said in a press release.

Of the workers who died from opioid-related causes last year, the government said 30% worked in construction.

That is "by far" the most impacted industry while the government noted the increased use of opioids in bars and nightclubs, "often because of recreational drugs laced with deadly opioids such as fentanyl and carfentanil."

Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can help to reverse an overdose within minutes of it being administered.

“Ontario, like the rest of Canada, is in the middle of an opioid epidemic made worse by a toxic supply of recreational street drugs,” said McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “That’s why our government is the first in North America to require naloxone kits be accessible in at-risk workplaces."

The program is set to kick in on June 1, 2023.

Naloxone kits and free training on how to use them are set to be provided to these businesses identified to be "at risk" and from June 1 onwards, the kits will be required to be on-site and enforced with an "education-first" approach.

Businesses can find out if they are eligible for the program and determine how to keep up with these newly announce requirements here.