China is a key source of the fentanyl coming into Canada, and one local councillor wonders who will hold them accountable.

Coun. Brad West of Port Coquitlam is wondering why China’s role in B.C.’s opioid crisis is not being called out by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier John Horgan. This comes as new data released on Tuesday morning showed that 125 people died of illicit drug overdoses in B.C. this past January, a 25 per cent increase from the month before. The powerful opioid fentanyl claimed a record 1,436 lives in 2017 in B.C.

West feels there has been a lack of action against China on the part of the federal and provincial governments, what he calls a “massive failure.” He said there aren’t enough politicians stepping up to challenge the Asian country on their fentanyl production.

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“We don’t have any other political leadership that’s willing to stand up and say, ‘Hey this stuff is coming from China,’ and it needs to stop,” West said.

The Port Coquitlam councillor said it appears many political leaders in B.C. are not willing to say the opioid is coming from China, especially because producers of the narcotics are making money from fatalities of British Columbians.

“There are people making a fortune off of the deaths of our people and it’s got to stop,” West said. Tweet This

West said there is a lot of chatter coming from politicians at both the federal and provincial level about what steps to take in battling the overdose crisis. However, he feels little action is being taken in terms of preventing the fentanyl from entering Canada.

“Stopping it before it comes into the country is just not happening,” West said. “It’s off the table and no one is talking about it and we need to be talking about it.”