44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 8, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/8/22 11:01:04 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech.
The Bloc Québécois obviously supports the Conservative Party motion about a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Canada in relation to the Saskatchewan Act.
However, we cannot discuss the Constitution without acknowledging the elephant in the room. Quebec is not a signatory to the Constitution Act, 1982, which Canada simply imposed on us.
Would my colleague comment on the fact that, for Quebeckers, the constitutional status quo is unacceptable?
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- Feb/8/22 12:10:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague and I seem to be on the same wavelength. If this Conservative Party motion is adopted and an amendment is made to the Constitution, what does he believe that would imply for Quebec, which in fact wants to revisit the Constitution?
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- Feb/8/22 10:23:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be a part of the discussion despite the late hour.
We are gathered here this evening to address a major public health problem, the opioid crisis. We are here because the member for Ajax tabled a notice of motion on February 4 calling for a take-note debate on the opioid crisis in Canada to take place tonight, February 8, 2022.
The opioid crisis is not an especially divisive issue. I believe everyone here would like to stop it. Our approaches to achieving that, however, can be very different indeed. In a nutshell, the Bloc Québécois wants to implement diversion for simple possession, with the support of frontline health care services.
Let us begin by defining opioids. Opioids are natural or synthetic substances that act on one of three main opioid receptors in the central nervous system. Whether injected or ingested, these substances can have an analgesic or depressive effect. Just to be sure we are all on the same page, here is a list of some opioids: oxycodone, morphine, hydromorphone, fentanyl, codeine, heroin and methadone.
Whether prescribed or not, these types of drugs cause users' tolerance to increase over time. Users might need to increase the dose to feel an effect. This goes hand in hand with the obvious psychological and physical dependence that can lead to overdose. Opioid deaths in Quebec and Canada increased from 3,000 in 2016 to over 6,000 in 2020. In four years, the number of deaths doubled. The same statistics are seen in the United States. This is huge. It is sad. It is a crisis. It is unacceptable.
Although this crisis is now occurring from coast to coast to coast, Quebec has historically been spared, to some extent, relative to the western provinces and Ontario. I will get to that. I am not bragging about Quebec, but I think Quebec has been wise and proactive. We did not wait for this to reach national crisis proportions before taking action and creating the 2018-20 national strategy for preventing and responding to opioid overdoses.
This strategy was based on compiling reliable data. It talks about science, awareness raising, information, access to integrated and adapted services, and, of course, prevention. For instance, Quebec has been successful in reducing overdose mortality by providing free, universal access to naloxone, an opioid antidote, and ensuring that first responders can administer it to anyone who is, sadly, experiencing an overdose.
Quebec has set up supervised injection sites. We in the Bloc Québécois are very much in favour of this. In our view, these sites have myriad benefits, such as the ability to reach vulnerable populations, reduced numbers of overdose deaths, reduced health risks, and better care for drug users. I would like to point out that the Bloc Québécois considers supervised injection sites to be a powerful tool for fighting the opioid crisis.
We are asking the federal government not to undermine the rollout of these tools by interfering in Quebec's drug access policies. Quebec currently has the situation under control. Even if Quebec's mortality rate is not what it should be, it is nevertheless lower than in the rest of Canada. I would appreciate it if the federal government would let us work on matters within our jurisdiction.
Opioid overdose deaths are common. In the vast majority of cases, the drugs were purchased illegally on the streets, such as fentanyl mixed with heroin.
For that reason, the Bloc Québécois is advocating for diversion for simple possession of these drugs, with the support of frontline health care services. In concrete terms, this means that an individual arrested for simple possession of heroin could undergo training, rehabilitation or another appropriate measure in exchange for the charges being dropped. We have to treat these people as what they are: drug addicts, not dangerous criminals.
I would like to remind the House that my first degree was in criminology, so I am looking at this debate through that lens. People need opportunities to get treatment for their addiction. They do not need to be sent to crime school. We could kill two birds with one stone because helping drug users recover from addiction would also ease pressure on our legal and prison systems. These people are not criminals; they are addicted to a drug. We must prioritize recovery over punishment.
I think everyone here would agree that the opioid crisis is a public health matter, not a criminal matter. If members have any doubts, I want to emphasize that the phrase “public health” is very important in my speech.
The Constitution Act, 1867, states that health care is a shared provincial-federal jurisdiction with clearly defined roles. The Constitution states that the provinces are responsible for health care, the practice of medicine, professional training, the regulation of the medical profession, hospital and health insurance, and so on. The provinces are responsible for all of that.
It is therefore clear that Quebec is responsible for delivering the vast majority of prevention, treatment and harm reduction programs in a public health crisis such as the opioid crisis. However, the federal government is responsible for funding research, initiatives and pilot projects and promoting awareness.
To that end, Quebec and the Bloc Québécois are calling for an annual supplementary health care contribution of 6%, as well as an increase of the federal share from 22% to 35% of Quebec's health care costs, which are directly related to this pandemic.
As my colleague from Jonquière said yesterday, the federal government's chronic underfunding of health comes at a cost. There is a price to be paid for pushing health care networks to the limit. Today, Quebeckers are the ones paying the price.
I think it is imperative for the Liberal government to take note of this consensus and to sit down with its provincial counterparts to discuss it.
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- Feb/8/22 10:33:59 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.
I completely agree. I am a humanist with a background in criminology. In Quebec and the U.S., half of all inmates are incarcerated on drug charges ranging from possession to trafficking. It is time to shrink the number of these criminals and pseudo-criminals and send them home or help those who really need help and are not criminals.
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- Feb/8/22 10:35:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, to be honest, I am not sure I understood my colleague's question.
If putting more money into either the health care system or the federal system fails to meet the need, we have to change course to get it right.
To be honest though, I am not sure I understood my colleague's question, so I am sorry.
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- Feb/8/22 10:36:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
If I had had more time, I would have gratified my colleague, who is the Bloc Québécois point person on social housing, by taking a few minutes to talk about this issue.
The Bloc Québécois is calling for 1% of federal revenues to be invested in these programs. This is not without reason. There are huge needs in terms of social housing, but there are clearly some connections to the topic we are debating this evening. What I mean is that there are vulnerable people in need who are struggling with drug addiction and are living on the streets. Some of these people are homeless, some live in social housing, and some are among the least fortunate.
This is a priority for the Bloc Québécois. That 1% is important. We are advocating for it now and will continue to do so.
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- Feb/8/22 10:38:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleague.
I did talk about compassion. However, we need more than compassion. My comments this evening were also based on science. Two parties are battling, and they are both in favour of science and all that. My own university studies and training led me to science. They led me to something that is not absolute, but that guides us toward satisfactory answers to the difficulties we are experiencing.
We do need to be compassionate, but our actions must be based on facts. There is no justification for jailing people in need. Would we send a chronic alcoholic to prison? Yes, perhaps. If a minor crime were involved, the individual would definitely be sent to prison.
We do need to show compassion, but we need to do more than that.
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- Feb/8/22 10:40:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our health care systems in Quebec and in the rest of Canada are unfortunately overloaded for multiple reasons. The opioid crisis is very clearly one factor. If we could have reasonable, sufficient health transfers, in keeping with what Canadians across the country deserve, and bearing in mind that Canadians have asked for a 35% threshold, we would obviously be better equipped to meet peoples' needs and perhaps be more empathetic towards those with these kinds of addiction problems.
Once again, they are not criminals at heart.
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- Feb/8/22 10:42:51 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, this time it is much clearer. I am sorry, the problem may have been my understanding.
There is abuse every time there is money in the picture. Pharmaceutical companies have an astonishing ability to target people's weaknesses and needs.
To answer my colleague's question, there are certainly justifications to be made. Maybe there will be some with the current COVID‑19 crisis. Maybe some companies took advantage of the price for a dose of one vaccine or another. I believe a responsible government has to respond regularly to all these types of questions, so that we get a clear picture and individuals, parliamentarians or average citizens can make up their own minds.
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