Ralph Goodale says Mounties need more cash to catch fentanyl traffickers

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told CBC News the RCMPneeds more money to combat Canada's deadly trade in fentanyl.

Hundreds of Canadians died after overdosing on the synthetic opioid last year 213 in Albertain the first nine months of 2015 alone, according to the province's health service.

In the wake of the October 2014attack on Parliament Hill,the RCMPreassigned 600 Mounties from criminal investigations and organized crime files to national security duties.

In the meantime, an RCMP report prepared for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and obtained by CBC News describes how organized crime groups started importing powdered fentanyl from China, established high volume, pill-making labs and expanded trafficking across the country.

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"That obviously was dealing with an immediate crisis and it was a classic example, sadly, of having to rob Peter to pay Paul," said Goodale.

He adds that has to change.

"So I'll be working with the force and Treasury Board and Finance to make sure that we've got the RCMP properly financed for all of the activities that we expect them to undertake and they're not put in this invidious position of having to short-change one field of very important activity to finance another field of very important activity."

Oneof the Liberals' campaign promises was to work with provinces and municipalities to form regional task forces to deal with illegal activities, "and this may be one initiative where we can work together focussed on one problem fentanyl," Goodale said.

The whole job needs to get done and we need to consider the financing of the force in that way.- Ralph Goodale, public safety minister

Fentanyl is a legitimate drug, most often used to control severe pain in cancer patientsthrough time-release patches stuck to the skin. Stolen patches or those "redirected" by people with a prescription made up the bulk of the street-level drug supply, especially in Ontario and Quebec,until 2013-14.

Organized crime and pill-making labs

Then organized crime, mostly in Western Canada started importing pure powdered fentanyl from China and setting up clandestine pill-making labs.

According to the RCMPreport, the "exponential growth in scale of organized crime involvement in fentanyl trafficking" islargely due to wideprofit margins.

The Canadian Pharmacists Association estimates fentanyl is 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Traffickers only need small quantities to make lots of pills. Police have warned the public that ingesting just a pinch of the drug could cause a fatal overdose.

The RCMP report highlightshow, "illicit synthetic drug tablets are produced in domestic clandestine tableting facilities, many resembling OxyContin 80 mg tablets containing fentanyl or fentanylanalogues."

Marie Agioritisof Saskatoonbelieves one of those pills killed her 19-year-old son Kelly Best.

"They were going around the community, green pills with 80 on them, that made it look like they were a 80mgOxyContin. Kids started to use them recreationally."

It happened last year when Agioritis, her husband andtheir younger children went away for a weekend. It was the first time the family had left their older son home alone.

Agioritishassincelearned that Best went over to his older brother's apartment, met a dealer and bought a single green pill. His brother supervised Best as he injested half of it. The next morning when he was on his own, Best took the other half. Hefell asleep and stopped breathing.

"You know when you see the movies and a mother finds out that one of her kids has died. It's actually exactly like that. I don't remember because I hit the floor and screaming and crying," Agioritis said.

One illicit fentanyl pill killed Marie's son

9 years ago

Duration 2:02

19-year-old Kelly Best of Saskatoon died after ingesting just one fentanyl pill, part of a growing crisis of abuse of the powerful prescription drug.

Possible restrictions on pill presses

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse has strong anecdotal evidence that many of those who fatally overdosedon fentanyl believed they were using heroin, oxycodone, cocaine or some other substance.

Goodale said he'll also look intorestricting the importation of industrialpill presses that allow crime groups to transform powdered fentanyl into lookalikeOxyContin.One option would be to require someone to have a licence to bring the machines into Canada.

"That's one of the dimensions that might be a possibility," he told CBC News.

Before March 2014,Canada Border Services Agencyreported no seizures of pure fentanyl. Since that time, the RCMP report notes thatCBSA has intercepted dozens of shipments at the Vancouver International Mail Centre and Vancouver International Airport. Many packages were falsely declared to be substances such as paint.

Health Canada has already moved to make a pharmaceutical antidote to fentanyl available to people without a prescription. By making naloxone an over-the-counter drug, it is hoped people who use fentanyl or any other opiatewill carry the antidote in case of an overdose.

Another measure now in place in Ontario seeks to stop the illicit trade in transdermal fentanyl patches. A private member's bill passed last month now requires people with prescriptions for the patches to turn in all of their old patches at the pharmacy before picking up new ones.

Marie Agioritis welcomes those measures all while mourning her son, whom she describes as having been sweet, funny and a flirt with girls at school.

She said talking about what happened to her family makes her feel a little bit better.

"Those emotions are there always, you just learn to live with them. But I'm committed to making a difference so my son doesn't die in vain. I know far too many parents who've been in my shoes."