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Alberta opposition demands extraordinary measures to fight fentanyl overdoses

Last Updated Mar 6, 2017 at 2:38 pm MDT

Fake oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl are shown in a Halifax Regional Police handout photo. Police in Atlantic Canada's largest city are warning the public about the presence of illicit fentanyl.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Halifax Regional Police MANDATORY CREDIT

Alberta’s opposition parties say the government is losing the battle against opioids like fentanyl and must declare a public health emergency.

Members of all four opposition parties say the declaration would free up resources and coordinate the work of the multiple agencies involved.

But Associate Health Minister Brandy Payne says calling a public health emergency won’t help.

She says the province already has the authority to make the necessary administrative changes to fight the rise in opioid addictions.

And she says the province is negotiating with the federal government for a share of the $65 million recently announced to help provinces to fight the drug _ a painkiller for terminally ill cancer patients and 100 times more powerful than heroin.

The province says 343 people died from apparent fentanyl overdoses last year which was a 25 percent increase from 257 deaths in 2015.