Canada’s public health crisis: New TELUS Health Originals documentary premiere illustrates the devastating effects of opioid addiction

  • Page Views 1556
  • Painkiller: Inside the Opioid Crisis looks at how this epidemic is impacting families and communities countrywide

    Vancouver – Today, TELUS released the first installment of its new TELUS Health Originals documentary series, a heartbreaking look at the public health emergency devastating North America through a new documentary: Painkiller: Inside the Opioid Crisis. Available on YouTube and on the TELUS Optik TV Healthy Living Network on channel 346 in western Canada, the film illustrates how the ravages of opioids are felt far beyond heavy drug users revealing how they are now devastating families and communities across every race, gender and socio-economic status.

    Directed by award-winning filmmaker, Matthew Embry (Living Proof), the documentary takes an inside look at this complex epidemic fueled by legal and illegal activity, exacerbated by well-intentioned drug policies and annihilated by fentanyl. Featuring interviews with every day families who share their personal stories of how their lives have been devastated by the opioid crisis, this film sheds light on a topic that knows no bounds of discrimination and initiates necessary conversations to help remove the stigma of addiction. In 2017, there were nearly 4,000 opioid-related deaths in Canada. Between January and March 2018 alone, 73% of accidental apparent opioid-related deaths involved fentanyl, compared to 54% in 2016 and 72% in 2017.

    “Part of our work at TELUS Health is to create advocacy around serious and important health topics and it is a privilege to be able to help Canadians become more informed about what Fentanyl is and how it is ravaging our communities through this documentary we have created.” said Juggy Sihota, vice-president, TELUS Health. “The opioid crisis in our country needs our collective attention; we believe that the health of our communities is of the utmost importance and it is through building awareness and understanding that we will help to eliminate the stigma of addiction and build stronger healthier communities across our country.”

    Painkiller: Inside the Opioid Crisis features interviews with frontline responders, border services and addiction specialists who share their perspective on the underlying problem of the ongoing opioid crisis and try to answer the question: how can our society treat pain without causing more? The film will be screened across the country in major cities as follows:

    ● Toronto, ON, November 19: AGO Jackman Hall (pre-screening)
    ● Edmonton, AB, November 21: Citadel Theatre | Zeidler Hall (pre-screening)
    ● Calgary, AB, November 22: Junction Grand Theatre
    ● Kelowna, BC, November 25: Kelowna Innovation Centre
    ● Vancouver, BC, November 26: SFU Harbour Centre | Fletcher Challenge Theatre
    ● Prince George, BC, November 27: UNBC Weldwood Theatre
    ● Surrey, BC, November 29: Surrey Civic Centre
    ● Victoria, BC, November 29: Oak Bay Beach Hotel (in Victoria)
    ● Winnipeg, MB, December 4: Winnipeg Art Gallery
    ● Ottawa, ON, December 6: Ottawa Art Gallery
    To RSVP for a public screening, please contact: [email protected].

    “The opioid epidemic is taking lives every single day. At TELUS, we believe we need to tell these difficult stories to drive change, so we can improve the lives of everyone in our community,” said Blair Miller, vice-president, Consumer Products and Content, TELUS. “We created this documentary to spark conversations about the opioid crisis, unite people and build better understanding.”

    The film premieres today in English on YouTube and the TELUS Optik TV Healthy Living Network on channel 346 in western Canada; a French subtitled version of the film will be released on YouTube in the coming months.

    To help fight the opioid crisis, TELUS will donate $5 for every view of the documentary, up to $50,000, to organizations providing critical care to those impacted, such as TELUS Health for Good, our Mobile Health Clinics providing primary healthcare to over 30,000 homeless Canadians.

    For more details on the documentary please visit: www.telus.com/painkiller.

    About TELUS Health and Payment Solutions
    TELUS Health is a leader in home health monitoring, electronic medical and health records, as well as consumer health, benefits management and pharmacy management solutions. TELUS Health leverages the power of technology to enable better health outcomes for Canadians with innovative digital solutions that enable collaboration, efficiency and productivity for physicians, pharmacists, health authorities, allied health care professionals, insurers, employers and citizens. TELUS Payment Solutions complements our health solutions by delivering secure, industry-compliant payment and lending solutions that connect lenders, payors, insurers, extended health care providers and financial institutions to their customers across Canada.

    For more information please visit: www.telushealth.com and www.telus.com/payment-solutions.

    Share

    New Posts Recently publish post More

    • 07 November 2024
      1 week ago No comment

      Marcos congratulates Trump

      President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines has congratulated Donald Trump for winning the November 5, 2024 U.S. presidential election. “President Trump has won, and the American people have triumphed. I congratulate them on their victory in an exercise that showed the world the strength of American values,” Marcos ...

    • Pope Francis addresses the crowd from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's square during the Angelus prayer on October 27, 2024 in The Vatican.
      04 November 2024
      1 week ago No comment

      Pope prays for Kristine victims in Philippines

      MANILA, Philippines — Pope Francis has offered prayers for Filipinos affected by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine. At Sunday’s Angelus address at the Vatican, the 87-year-old pontiff reportedly mentioned praying for the victims of Kristine. “I am close to the population of the Philippines, struck by a powerful cyclone. May ...

    • 04 November 2024
      1 week ago No comment

      Duterte: no apology, no excuses for drug war

      Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on October 28, 2024 offered no apologies or excuses for his actions as he faced a Senate investigation into his widely criticized bloody war on drugs for the first time. Before reading his prepared statement during the hearing of the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee, ...

    • 24 October 2024
      3 weeks ago No comment

      Marcos-Duterte feud: “now a fight to the finish”

      The raging spat between the two most powerful political dynasties in the Philippines isn’t showing signs of letting up. As one political observer noted, the fight between the camps of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and erstwhile ally Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio has reached a point of no return. “This ...

    • 21 October 2024
      3 weeks ago No comment

      Filipino Art is Alive and Well!

      Marianne Valdez, a Canadian-born Filipino visual artist and live painter from Surrey, British Columbia, brings a fresh cultural perspective to contemporary art. Her exhibit, “Masaganang Buhay: A Bountiful Life,” opened at the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver on October 11th. It was warmly welcomed by Acting Consul General Analyn ...