Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley is in Toronto Monday for a discussion on how to curb opioid abuse in Ontario.
He's one of ten mayors invited to the meeting by Health Minister Eric Hoskins.
The minister of community safety and correctional services, chief medical officer of health, and chief coroner will also be in attendance.
Bradley says drug abuse has a wide impact across the community, with a reported 8,400 opioid users locally in 2015.
"There's just a whole issue that develops across society when there's this kind of significant drug abuse," says Bradley. "It has huge social and economic impacts. Everything from housing, to crime, to relationships between families."
Bradley says in 2015, 719 people in Lambton county were on methadone, which is the seventh highest figure in Ontario. Lambton had 11 opioid-related deaths in 2013.
Bradley says he'll be reiterating the need for a detox centre locally, noting discussions with the Local Health Integration Network have been ongoing.
