City marks overdose awareness day
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/08/2025 (209 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett was joined at city hall by toxic drug supply awareness advocates as he signed a proclamation marking Sunday as National Overdose Awareness Day.
“Each death represents a human being, a member of a family and a member of a community,” Fawcett read from the proclamation on Friday. “We wish to support those who use substances by providing evidence-based policies and wide access to many forms of treatment.”
Antoinette Gravel-Ouellette, who is the national program co-ordinator with Moms Stop The Harm, said the proclamation signing left her feeling “tender” and added the stigma around substance use needs to stop.
Toxic drug supply awareness advocates Lynda Plaisier (from left), Solange Machado, Carla Hansen, Wayne Lloyde and Antoinette Gravel-Ouelette join Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett as he signs a proclamation marking Aug. 31 as National Overdose Awareness Day. (Skye Anderson/The Brandon Sun)
She said people are going to use substances, but it’s when they don’t know what’s in them that they die. She said other substances need to be regulated the same way that alcohol and cannabis are.
Gravel-Ouellette said it doesn’t matter whether a person has used a substance for a long time or if they try it for the first time at a party, if the drug is toxic, it can kill.
“There’s no stigma around who it affects,” she said.
“I encourage people to take care of one another … and see the humanity in every person. Sometimes when people are struggling, no matter whether it’s from substances or anything else, people forget that they are valued and that they have a purpose.”
Several events will take place in Brandon for NOAD, including a toxic drug poisoning awareness walk on Sunday at Princess Park at 1 p.m. and a vigil at Dinsdale Park in the evening to honour people who have died from substance-related harms.
» sanderson@brandonsun.com