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House Hansard - 26

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 8, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 26 - Feb/8/22
Mr. Kevin Vuong (Spadina—Fort York, Ind.)
  • Feb/8/22 7:07:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for sharing his story. I can say, as a naval officer who also gets seasick, we are so grateful to have had his father's service. As I noted in my question for the Prime Minister last week, opioids claim the lives of 19 Canadians per day and, sadly, my riding of Spadina—Fort York has the second-highest fatality zone of 57 deaths. It is not just the one death. It is death by a thousand cuts, 24,626 cuts. These are sisters, brothers, parents, grandparents, children and friends whose lives have ended too soon, 24,626 lives. The number of deaths and the destruction to our communities is staggering. I saw this first-hand during a community safety walk with Toronto police, where they had to stop to respond to two overdoses then and there during our walk. What does my colleague want to see in an effective national strategy and when does he want to see it? We have to end this carnage.
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Context: House Hansard - 26 - Feb/8/22
Mr. Kevin Vuong (Spadina—Fort York, Ind.)
  • Feb/8/22 7:31:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleague will forgive me not asking my question in French. I am not quite there yet. I am glad that we are bringing up safe injection sites. I want to localize it to my community of Spadina—Fort York. As I am sure my colleague knows, there are 38 in the country. Of the 38, there are nine in Toronto. One is in my riding and the other eight are in very close proximity to my community. Safe injection sites are important tools, as the member says, but they are also not the be-all and end-all. We also want to look further downstream in terms of the impacts this crisis is having, the cycle of addiction and how it brings about homelessness and so many other challenges. There are eight respite shelters in Toronto, and over half of them are in my riding. My community is bearing the brunt. I am curious to hear from the member what her thoughts are in terms of how we break the cycle of addiction beyond safe injection sites.
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