EDMONTON -- The number of deaths in Alberta related to fentanyl overdoses continues to rise.
Associate health minister Brandy Payne says 343 people died from the opiod in 2016, compared with 257 deaths in 2015 and 117 the year before that.
The province is fighting the drug on a number of fronts, including distributing naloxone kits, which can be used in emergency situations to save an overdose victim.
Payne says they are changing the rules to allow more first responders to deliver naloxone by injections.
Firefighters, police and peace officers will now have access to the kits and training at no cost.
Payne says the legal-medical status of naloxone will also be changed to allow more care providers to administer it without supervision.
