The Canadian Red Cross has added training to identify and respond to opioid poisoning in all its CPR and first aid programs across the country.

Health Canada is spending $7.9 million over the next three years to deliver opioid overdose education and response training and naloxone administration support.

The goal is to give people the tools they need to assist someone until medial attention arrives.

A study will also be conducted to identify needs, pinpoint gaps in the current response and indicate opportunities to intervene.

Between January 2016 and December 2020, there were more than 21,000 apparent opioid related deaths in Canada, with 97 per cent happening by accident.

The crisis has worsened since the start of COVID with 6,200 deaths recorded in 2020 alone.

A primary focus of the project is to reach people at risk in under-served, remote, rural, or Indigenous communities.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information found communities of 50,000 to 100,000 people had rates of opioid-related hospitalizations more than twice that of cities with populations over 500,000.