The Story Behind: Fentanyl (3 Part Series)

This three-part series, presented by RogersTV, examines the opioid and fentanyl crisis and its widespread impact on communities across Ontario, Canada. The first video provides an essential background on fentanyl, explaining how the drug has infiltrated neighborhoods and contributed to a growing public health crisis. A local police officer stresses that "the misuse and abuse of fentanyl is a shared responsibility — it’s a public health issue that involves education, intervention, treatment, and enforcement."

Parts two and three expand on this foundation through personal stories from individuals directly affected by addiction, along with insights from healthcare workers, law enforcement, and other experts. The series explores how the pharmaceutical industry contributed to the rise of a thriving black market, the efforts being made to address the crisis, the role of harm reduction strategies, and the challenges many people face when seeking treatment.

By combining expert insight with firsthand experiences, The Story Behind: Fentanyl offers a closer look at how the fentanyl crisis continues to affect individuals, families, and communities across Ontario.

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"People have been told for years to leave the person that is in addiction … it’s important that people still walk beside somebody with addiction. It doesn’t mean that you have to enable them, it doesn’t mean that you have to put up with the negative parts of it, but to leave somebody? I don’t think that there’s another disease that people have that you’re forced to do alone."

"Signs of an overdose may include one or more of the following: the person is unresponsive or won’t wake easily; their lips and fingernails turn blue; the skin is cold and clammy."

"Fentanyl was designed with good purposes in mind. It has very important therapeutic uses, especially for chronic cancer patients. Unfortunately, when it gets into the wrong hands or when it’s not administered in a therapeutic setting, in a clinical setting, then it’s extremely dangerous."

"The Fentanyl Patch 4 Patch Return Initiative has been established for the purpose of public education and awareness regarding the risks of fentanyl misuse and abuse."

"A harm reduction approach requires us to dig a little deeper with that client, to understand what has transpired in that person’s life, begin to unpack that and then build supports to help them work through that."⁴

¹ The sharp increase in fentanyl-related deaths described in the documentary reflected the early stages of Ontario’s opioid crisis. More recent data from Ontario’s Office of the Chief Coroner shows opioid-related deaths in the province declined by 54% in 2025 compared to the peak in 2021, though mortality rates remain significantly higher than pre-crisis levels and continue to disproportionately affect Northern Ontario communities.
² The Canadian Alcohol & Drug Use Monitoring Survey (CADUMS) has since been replaced by newer national surveys, including Health Canada’s Canadian Substance Use Survey (CSUS). Recent CSUS data found that 13% of Canadian adults and 10% of youth and young adults reported pharmaceutical opioid use within the previous 12 months.
³ The scale of the fentanyl crisis has escalated substantially since the 2011–2013 period referenced in the documentary. Public Health Agency of Canada data reported more than 4,100 apparent opioid toxicity deaths nationally during the first nine months of 2025 alone, with Ontario accounting for a significant share of cases and fentanyl involved in most opioid-related deaths.
⁴ Harm reduction is grounded in a set of public health principles that emphasize pragmatism, respect, and human rights. It recognizes that drug use exists across societies and focuses on reducing harm rather than eliminating use entirely. Core principles include meeting people where they are without requiring abstinence, providing non-judgmental and voluntary services, prioritizing individual health and well-being, and involving people who use drugs in the design and delivery of policies and interventions that affect them.