A group that represents Ontario construction companies is launching a campaign to raise awareness after a new report revealed construction workers made up nearly a third of opioid deaths among employed Ontarians in 2020.

Of the nearly 2,500 opioid-related deaths last year in the province, 30 per cent of victims who were employed were construction workers, the report by the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network says.

“It’s far more than is found in any other sector,” said Phil Gillies, the executive director of the Ontario Construction Coalition (OCC).

The report, released May 19, found 2,426 Ontarians died of opioid overdoses in 2020, up from 1,517 in 2019 — an increase of 60 per cent. Additionally, it measures deaths from the beginning of the pandemic in March to the end of the year in December (2,050), and shows 264 of those who died in that time period were employed and 78 of them were construction workers.

In response, the OCC has launched a public information campaign dubbed “The Other Pandemic,” which urges construction companies, contractors, workers, and all levels of government to take action. The campaign offers several recommendations.

“A user should either be going to a supervised injection site or using at least with another trusted person in the room with access to one of these,” Gillies said as he pointed to a kit containing naloxone, an opioid antidote administered by injection to save the user’s life.

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