PC leader Patrick Brown promotes pill pressing machine ban

Ontario's Liberal government could stop the opioid crisis "in its tracks" by taking simple steps like banning private pill pressing machines, according to Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown. 

Brown was in Cambridge on Tuesday, attending a roundtable discussion on the opioid crisis with Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Michael Harris.

• Fentanyl seizures explode in 2016 in Waterloo region
• Cheap, bootleg fentanyl floods Waterloo region's illicit drug trade

"The provincial government seems to be sleepwalking through this crisis and need a wake up call," Brown said, adding that more needs to be done to protect Ontario communities from criminal activities associated with the crisis.

"It's impossible for it not to be emotional when you hear a mother talking about a son they've lost, knowing that this was preventable, knowing that we as society have not reacted to this crisis quickly enough."

Brown said one thing that can be done to respond to the growing crisis and help shut it down is to "crack down" on pill pressing machines. 

In April, Harris introduced a private members bill, which — if passed — would "prohibit anyone other than a pharmacist or license holder" from having a pill pressing machine.

• 23 people died from opioid overdoses in first half of 2016, data shows
• 5 arrested in Kitchener after raids find fentanyl, pot, pills

"This is a non-partisan issue and I hope the Liberals will make this bill a priority," Harris said in a press release. "The Waterloo Region community is doing an exceptional job with the resources they have, but we need to ensure they have the tools they need to combat this crisis."

Bill 126, or the Illegal Pill Press Act, passed its first reading on April 27.