Ontario Chamber of Commerce says businesses feeling the impact of the drug crisis

Citing a projection of more than 3,000 annual drug poisoning deaths in the province for a fifth consecutive year, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce is calling for urgent action on the substance use and overdose crisis.

The Ontario Chamber’s document, ‘Beyond Emergency Declarations: Charing Ontario’s Course Through the Substance Use and Overdose Crisis,’ shows Sault Ste. Marie has the second-highest opioid mortality rate in Ontario, prompting concern from the local chamber.

Rory Ring, who will be stepping down as CEO of the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce this week, said theft and crime tied to drug use can cost a business a significant amount of money.

“People just assume, whether it's a broken window or a door or items that get stolen, that the business just claims that on their insurance when the reality is the deductibles for business insurance are very substantial, like you may have to have a $5,000 loss before you can actually make a claim,” said Ring, who points out that even in cases where an insurance claim can be made, businesses can face long-term increases in costs.

“If it's above the amount, the business has to give consideration if they were to make a claim that at some point in time, their insurance rates are going to be going up, and we know that the rate of insurance or business increases has been fairly substantial over the last five years.”

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce said businesses find themselves on the frontlines of the drug crisis, with dwindling customer traffic, rising security costs and risks to employees.

Ring said while supports are needed to help people who are grappling with addictions, those who profit from the sale of opioids need to be brought to justice.

“We need to ensure that our judicial system and our criminal system accounts for the fact that these people who are dealing and manufacturing are exercising violence on humankind and taking advantage of the weaknesses of those individuals,” he said.

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