First annual Fentanyl Awareness Day Walk in Manitoba honours those lost to overdose

Friday was a bittersweet day for Joseph Fourre, as dozens gathered at The Forks for a walk in honour of his son.

“I’m not going to say I don’t miss him everyday. Especially today because today was his birthday,” Joseph said.

In April 2023, Joseph lost his 31-year-old son Harlan to a fentanyl overdose.

“He left us with a very important message,” Joseph said. “Fentanyl and the opioid crisis isn’t just an addiction issue. It can happen to anyone.”

Joseph says Harlan took what he though was ecstasy, but it was tainted with fentanyl. The family decided to take Harlan off life support on April 28, 2023.

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Despite the tragedy and grief, it didn’t take long for Joseph to take action. He launched the No Thanks I’m Good campaign to encourage others to say no to drugs, something his son used to say.

“No drug is safe. It’s not a question anymore of don’t do drugs because you might get addicted. It’s really don’t do drugs because you might die,” Joseph said.

Friday marked the first annual Fentanyl Awareness Day Walk in Manitoba. Joseph encouraged others who have lost loved ones to walk from The Forks to the Manitoba Legislature Building in their honour.

It was a meaningful day for Bonny Moose, who lost her sister last December.

“My sister was more than her addiction. She was a lot of things. She was a mother, she was a sister, she was a daughter,” Moose said.

Also speaking at the walk on Friday was the chief of War Lake First Nation, Betsy Kennedy. She says Joseph’s message needs to be spread.

“We are losing our young people to drugs and we don’t know when or if this drug will come up in our communities. It’s been devastating,” Kennedy said.

According to Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, the number of opioid-related calls increased from 198 in 2018 to 3,400 in 2023, an increase of over 1,600 per cent. As of August of this year, WFPS has already responded to over 2,100 opioid-related calls.

Statistics like these are what keeps motivating Joseph.

“We will do this every year until fentanyl is no longer an issue in our communities,” Joseph said.

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