SoVote

Mrs. Tracy Gray (Kelowna—Lake Country, CPC)

Feb/8/22 2:56:14 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, polls say that fewer than one in five Canadians expect their financial situation to improve this year. Almost 60% of Canadians are having a tough time putting food on their tables, and the average family grocery bill will go up $1,000 this year. Constituents are emailing me copies of the highest home heating bills they have ever received, and payroll taxes will take about $700 off the average family's paycheques this year. People are being squeezed. Why is the government not addressing the unmanageable squeeze that is being put on hard-working families, making it difficult every day to just pay for basic necessities?

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Context: House Hansard - 26 - Feb/8/22

Mrs. Tracy Gray (Kelowna—Lake Country, CPC)

Feb/8/22 8:29:20 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is an honour to be here late in the evening at this take-note debate to talk about the opioid crisis in Canada. Sadly, overdose deaths outpaced COVID-19 deaths in British Columbia last year. Constituents from across Kelowna—Lake Country continually reach out to me about the mental health and addictions issues playing out on our streets. However, the opioid crisis also affects everyday families, and of course the biggest tragedy is the people who are struggling with addiction and the people who are trying to help them. I have met with residents of Rutland, in downtown Kelowna, and other areas who see first hand the tragic impact that opioids and drug addictions have in their neighbourhoods. I have met with mothers who have lost a child to overdose. Their stories are heartbreaking, and I cannot imagine what they have gone through. The government's continued response has been to push off the responsibility, and it has been left to our provinces and municipalities to deal with. There needs to be federal leadership on the opioid crisis, here in Ottawa. I am not new to this issue. I spoke about Kelowna—Lake Country's addictions crisis during my maiden speech in the previous Parliament. I called on the government to introduce actionable items that would deal with bringing those addicted into recovery while ensuring criminal accountability for keeping illegal drugs on our streets. Since then, I have told the government of families watching loved ones slip away, of the desperate need to fund recovery and treatment centres and of the struggling surges in rates of overdoses in my community and my province. We keep hearing from the government what we have always heard: hearts going out, action plans coming, awareness and moving forward. However, there have not been any specific actionable plans. Kelowna—Lake Country and British Columbia are left with yet another year of tragic statistics. The year 2021 surpassed 2020 as the deadliest year for illicit drug deaths, and now, six British Columbians a day are lost, according to B.C.'s chief coroner. Kelowna has gone from counting drug deaths in single digits just 10 years ago to now having many dozen a year in my community alone. I hosted a mental health round table in my community last year, and conversations were geared toward talking about addiction. There were many stakeholders there from my community and they gave really good input, which helped lead into our platform in the previous election. I have talked to first responders, and they are exhausted by the continual calls of overdoses and seeing the tragedy every day. Let us recognize and thank them here today. They are on the front lines of the opioid crisis every day. B.C. Emergency Health Services responded to over 35,000 overdoses in 2021, an increase of 31% compared with the previous year and nearly triple the number it responded to when the government was elected in 2015. New substances with even more significant toxicity continue to appear in Kelowna, with a public health warning issued of a new substance just this past January. There are a number of organizations, including those in Kelowna—Lake Country, that provide treatment in supportive living environments for those struggling to recover from addiction. They are trying to bring hope and healing to people so they can become productive members of society. However, many of these organizations do not meet government models to receive funding and have to self-fund in the community and rely on generous volunteers and donors. We need to use all the tools available, such as drug-treatment beds, community recovery centres and wraparound services. The opioid crisis is a national emergency and an urgent health issue, and COVID-19 has made things worse. People have been isolated, out of work and unable to see friends and family. My community has been very clear about what is needed to help them. The federal government has received clear recommendations from British Columbia's municipalities, including Kelowna, while leaving them without much-needed treatment. We must act for the people who need recovery and treatment and act for the families and communities where we live. We must all work together in the House to help people and families, and we must act now.

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Context: House Hansard - 26 - Feb/8/22

Mrs. Tracy Gray

Feb/8/22 8:34:54 p.m.
Watch

Madam Chair, this is one tool in the tool kit, and really it is the only tool that both levels of government have been using. Although it has been useful for many people and has saved lives, as we know, it is simply one tool. There are so many other tools we are not using. When we look at the numbers that I cited in my speech, we can see how the numbers are increasing. It is not solving all of the issues. It is just one tool. We need to be looking at all other options out there in order to best help and resolve the situation.

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Context: House Hansard - 26 - Feb/8/22

Mrs. Tracy Gray

Feb/8/22 8:36:45 p.m.
Watch

Madam Chair, again, we have to utilize all the tools that are available. They are provided through funding, and the federal government can be a leader on that. It is one of the reasons that, on this side of the House, we have been asking to increase the health transfers to the provinces. That is just one of our tools, and then the provinces can utilize it the best they can. We also have to look at national strategies that can be implemented across the country so there is some consistency as we go from province to province.

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Context: House Hansard - 26 - Feb/8/22

Mrs. Tracy Gray

Feb/8/22 8:38:28 p.m.
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Madam Chair, if we want to back this up and look at the causes, let us talk about the drug dealers who are out there. Right now, we have legislation before the House that looks at reducing sentences for drug dealers for smuggling. If we are going to back this up and look at some of the causes, let us start where people are getting some of these very harmful drugs, and let us address it there as we are going through all these other steps.

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