The terms of reference for appointing Canada’s first fentanyl czar will be finalized by the end of the week, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said Thursday, who also committed the government to “absolutely” filling the role by the time the country reaches the end of its 30-day reprieve period from U.

Public Safety Minister David McGuinty says Canada's new "fentanyl czar" will be appointed before U.S. President Donald Trump's next deadline for imposing sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods.

According to US estimates, an average of 205 Americans have died each day of opioid overdoses in recent years, mostly from fentanyl. Canada has seen 21 deaths per day, according to the latest data, but its population is about twelve times smaller.