Hon. David Richards: Thank you very much, Senator Boniface. I agree that any medical protocol would help. I also agree with decriminalization, but I’m wondering if it will actually solve the problem. I don’t think it will. Methamphetamine will still be methamphetamine. Fentanyl will still be fentanyl. It has ravaged our communities in New Brunswick. People who begged their family members to get help, who promised them the sky and the world if they could get help and turned their backs on them.

We know what addiction does. I don’t think there is any quick fix here, and I know you would know that. In the long term, if we don’t criminalize the selling of these drugs, the decriminalization of using them will not do that much. I hope it does, but I’m just not sure that it will. Maybe I’m too much of a cynic, but I know what alcoholism does in our country. I know the disastrous effect of that on family life, and I wonder if you might comment on that.

Senator Boniface: Thank you, Senator Richards, for the question. It is a complex issue, and you are absolutely correct that the complexity of the issue makes for a multitude of things. Let me step back and clarify a couple of them.

The bill calls for a national strategy. We have much interesting and good work being done across the country. It’s just very ad hoc. It’s usually funded locally or funded on a limited basis, and we’re not gathering the information we need on it. Firstly, that’s really an important point — that we actually look at what’s happening in Canada and where Canada may be a leader on some of this. I refer you to my comments about the City of Timmins and the difference they found in a short period of time just by changing strategy.

The second important thing on decriminalization is the shame and stigma attached with the criminal process, and Dr. Jeff Turnbull, who heads Ottawa Inner City Health, spoke on this a couple of times when I’ve been in his presence. Again, as the firefighter I quoted from Calgary said, you don’t get to follow up when you’re in the call because they are gone as soon as they hear the sirens.

What would really be helpful is taking a look at the good work being done. If you look at the Portugal experience, which some of you may be familiar with, one thing they found in the long term — Portugal’s policy has been in place since the 2000s — is when you shift the thinking that it’s a health issue and not a criminal law issue, for young people coming up they start to see it as a health issue. They start to see it in a different light, and you don’t get the same propensity to use drugs. In fact, Portugal has found that they have been able to reduce drug use as a result of their approach. It’s a very comprehensive approach and appears to work in Portugal. Other countries, Switzerland and Norway, are carrying out many initiatives. There are many ways we can look at it. This is a tough issue, and it would be unfortunate for government to back off from a tough issue just because it’s tough.