Canada on Tuesday named a former deputy commissioner with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as the country’s fentanyl czar, hoping to show the U.S. it is working to prevent production and distribution of the synthetic opioid.

The federal government has appointed former Mountie Kevin Brosseau as Canada's new "fentanyl czar," a role created as part of a last-minute deal to avert a major trade war with the United States.

A former deputy commissioner of the RCMP says the mandate of the proposed “fentanyl czar” should be broadened to include all illicit drugs produced by organized crime.