44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 3, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/3/22 2:47:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over the last five years, more than 25,000 Canadians have died of toxic drug overdoses and the pandemic has only made things worse. In my home province of B.C., drug toxicity is the leading cause of death for those aged 19 to 39. That is why I proposed the bill to decriminalize personal possession and increase access to harm reduction and treatment. It is essential to deal with this crisis and save lives now.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister recognized that this is a health issue. Today it is still a criminal issue. Will he do the right thing and support my bill for a health-based approach to substance use?
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- Feb/3/22 4:28:34 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-8
Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for highlighting the Liberal-Conservative coalition to protect the financialization of the housing industry. We keep hearing about affordability and the Liberal and Conservative definitions of what is affordable.
Maybe the member could speak about how there is nothing in this bill to fix the broken language they have used in their definition of what is truly affordable.
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- Feb/3/22 6:31:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to speak about one of the most important issues in our country, the public health emergency that is taking place in our country.
We know that the Public Health Agency of Canada expects that more than 3,000 Canadians will die just in the first six months of 2022 from toxic overdoses. We know that they will be from all ages and all walks of life, but it will disproportionately impact indigenous peoples.
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We do not know yet how many Canadians have been lost from overdoses in 2021, but it is likely to be over 7,000 lives. That is almost double the number of deaths from toxic overdoses in 2019. Since the pandemic began in 2020, over 3,389 people have been killed from overdoses in my home province of British Columbia, while the COVID-19 pandemic has taken 2,455 lives. All are obviously a huge loss to our communities, but behind these statistics there is real heartbreak for families, as they lose sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and colleagues, and community members. As members of Parliament, most of us have had the call that we all dread, as I am sure you have too, Mr. Speaker, from a family member who has lost a loved one because of their use of poisoned drugs. I have had too many calls in my six years from loved ones, representing a rural riding and small communities, including just this last weekend.
Substance use and addiction are born of trauma, poverty, homelessness and colonialization. These are important areas of policy that we must act on with urgency, to be sure. However, we also need to take other measures. I look forward to the engagement of members from all sides of the House concerning the provisions of my private member's bill, Bill C-216, on a health-based approach to substance use, in the coming weeks.
Regretfully, as The Globe and Mail recently pointed out, “The words opioids, overdoses, decriminalization and safer supply do not get mentioned at all in the mandate letters” of the ministers of the government, nor in the Speech from the Throne. In fact, there is no mention of overdose deaths at all in the mandate letter for the Minister of Health. Problematic substance use ranks sixth on the list of top 10 priorities in the mandate letter of the Minister of Health.
The truth is that we know it is not addiction that is killing people. It is toxic, illicit drugs and a poisoned drug supply that are killing them. My bill calls for the decriminalization of possessing illicit drugs for personal use and for the expungement of records of conviction. These measures are intended to remove the stigma of drug use and remove barriers to accessing recovery programs, housing, child custody and travel. My bill also calls for a national strategy that will expand the availability of treatment and expand the availability of a regulated, safer supply of drugs.
The government has ignored the expert task force on substance use, which presented its recommendations before the unnecessary election last year. Most importantly, it ignored the call for a safer supply of drugs as an urgent priority. The Globe called the government's approach a “recipe for failure” and a “slow-motion policy response” to a national emergency, with a certainty of “more needless deaths”. This will mean more calls to members of Parliament from families that could have been spared unimaginable loss.
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- Feb/3/22 6:41:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since the government got elected there have been over 25,000 Canadians who have died from this toxic drug supply and overdoses. It is not in anyone's mandate letter. It is not in the Speech from the Throne. It has been six years. The government has ignored its own Health Canada task force on substance use and the recommendations they put forward that are reflected in my bill.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister said he understands this is a health issue, yet today it is still a criminal issue in this country. Why? It is because he is worried about votes. He is worried about votes instead of having the courage to do the right thing. Listen to the health experts, the criminal experts, law enforcement, the people working on the front line of this crisis and the drug users themselves.
I am calling on the government and all parliamentarians to support my bill and do the right thing.
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