The province’s Child Death Review Committee is recommending that the provincial government implement mandatory age-appropriate substance abuse education beginning in primary school.
The committee is mandated to review the circumstances surrounding the death of a child and make appropriate recommendations.
The committee forwarded three reports to the minister of justice in March including recommendations to the departments of justice, health and education for collaborative action on a number of concerns.
In addition to substance abuse education in primary grades, it recommends the expansion of the naloxone kit program to schools, and drug-testing strips in the kits to allow potential users to identify substances.
It also recommends the expansion of drug alert systems with the most up-to-date and relevant drug toxicity information available to schools and the public as a whole.
Initiatives to explore the regulated use of social media by young people are also being recommended.
