As losses mount in toxic opioid crisis, Ontario cities memorialize overdose victims [Video]

There is less and less space on the lawn for the dozens upon dozens of bright white crosses.

The grass between the fire station and the sidewalks on a downtown corner in Sudbury, Ont., is crowded with markers bearing the names of people lost to the opioid overdose crisis.

Too many more are dying.

What started four years ago as a memorial to a local woman’s son has grown so much in size and in the public consciousness that the city has pledged to find space for a permanent installation.

It’s not the only municipality with such plans in Ontario, where opioid toxicity contributes to an estimated seven deaths a day, or some 1,249 people in the first five months of the year, according to preliminary estimates.

Across the province, data from the Office of the Chief Coroner show rates have been significantly higher since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, from an average of …