SoVote

Kevin Vuong

Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
Independent

Spadina—Fort York
Ontario
Voting Attendance: 62%
Expenses Last Quarter: $144,966.01

Government Page

Mr. Kevin Vuong (Spadina—Fort York, Ind.)

May/9/24 1:32:13 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, as a Toronto member of Parliament, I feel obligated to say that I will be voting in support of the motion. That is because my community is home to or immediately adjacent to every single one of Toronto's nine injection sites. I am also the MP for parents who have had to learn what to do when their child is pierced by a needle. That is not normal. That is not something that any parent should have to go through. I was relieved when the B.C. government decided to do a 180, but I am concerned because the Medical Officer of Health for Toronto has doubled down, and the NDP mayor of Toronto continues to power through to decriminalization. I am curious to know what my colleague thinks about why it is that they continue to do this in spite of all of the evidence about how dangerous it has become.

155 words

Context: House Hansard - 262 - Dec/5/23

Mr. Kevin Vuong

Dec/5/23 7:46:46 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary says that they are following the science and following the experts, but I have cited experts who specialize in addiction and substance-use medicine, and what they are telling the government is that what is happening is not working. They can accuse us of stigmatization or of false narratives, but the reality is that, if government members would leave their ivory tower to walk the streets of the communities that host these sites, experts would tell them that harm reduction without treatment is not working. Let us look at the trend of deaths. It is unfortunately only going up. Why would we continue to do what is not working? I have cited a number of times an injection site in my riding. If the parliamentary secretary does not believe that, that is fine. There is one in Toronto—Danforth, and I spoke to a constituent Brooke who said that the injection site is not harm reduction, but harm facilitation. The government needs to listen to the experts and either abolish or reform safe supply.

180 words

Context: House Hansard - 258 - Nov/29/23

Mr. Kevin Vuong (Spadina—Fort York, Ind.)

Nov/29/23 3:25:55 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, 35 doctors and addiction experts recently wrote to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, recommending significant reform or outright abolishment of the safe-supply strategy. Harm reduction without treatment does not break the cycle of addiction. In Toronto and across Canada, the strategy is not working and is wreaking havoc on communities. Without a federal exemption, injection sites would be illegal. Will the Prime Minister listen to the experts and either reform safe supply and provide funding to keep host neighbourhoods safe, or eliminate injection sites altogether?

90 words

Context: House Hansard - 248 - Nov/7/23

Mr. Kevin Vuong (Spadina—Fort York, Ind.)

Nov/7/23 1:59:05 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I want to bring attention to a critical issue that is threatening the safety of our children and communities. The matter involves the Liberal government providing exemptions for the operation of safe injection sites that would otherwise be illegal under the Criminal Code. There are four pillars of an effective drug strategy, but harm reduction without enforcement, prevention or treatment does nothing to break the cycle of addiction. There are 35 addiction experts who made a letter public that they wrote to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions calling for safe supply to be reformed or abolished. National failures have local consequences. Downtown Toronto has become a war zone of increasing violence and danger. If the government provides exemptions that endanger children and communities, it must provide the funds to ensure that neighbourhoods that host such sites have the resources to keep them safe. In the absence of that, it is time for the Liberal government to listen to the experts and either reform or abolish safe supply.

171 words

SoVote

Member of Parliament

Kevin Vuong