- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- NDP
- Courtenay—Alberni
- British Columbia
- Voting Attendance: 66%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $148,159.67
- Government Page
- Nov/2/23 10:35:02 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to bring forward this petition on behalf of constituents of mine from Cumberland, Courtenay, Parksville, Qualicum Beach and Port Alberni.
The petitioners are calling on the government to take action on the toxic drug crisis. They cite that the war on drugs has failed miserably, and this is from family members and community members, people who are connected to people who have died from toxic drugs. They cite that criminalizing people causes more harm and that the government needs to take on evidence-based policies, which include expunging people's records who have been charged with personal possession of substances; stop criminalizing people who use substances; creating a regulated safer supply of drugs to replace the toxic street drugs; expanding treatment, recovery, prevention and education; and ensuring that people are getting the support in time and that we are meeting people where they are at.
The petitioners are calling for a plan with a timeline and resources to tackle this crisis, which is taking the lives of people in our communities.
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- Oct/17/23 6:33:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am glad the member talked about an integrated approach because the Portuguese model is a coordinated, integrated, compassionate model. Here in Canada, we do not have coordination. There are no resources. In fact, we are in a health crisis.
I will say this: The Liberals' incremental approach costs lives in a health crisis. The disinformation from the Conservatives costs lives in a health crisis. What we need is action. We need a timeline to invest in harm reduction, treatment, recovery, prevention, education and a safer supply to replace the toxic street drugs.
Where is the plan? Where is the timeline? Where is the compassion? When is this going to be a priority? When are they truly going to end the stigma? Do I have to keep coming back here every week to fight the same fight? When is the plan going to be tabled in this House of Commons? The families deserve it.
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- Oct/17/23 6:25:11 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am here tonight on behalf of the 40,000 Canadian families that have lost loved ones since 2016, since the Liberals formed government, due to the toxic drug supply. I am here also on behalf of those living with problematic substance use and recreational substance use who are dying from preventable deaths.
Just to give some context, right now in Canada, about 180 Canadians per million die due to toxic drugs. In British Columbia, my home province, it is 430. In the Island Health region, it is over 500, and in the Alberni Valley, where I live, it is over 1,000. For those under the age of 49, it is right now over 2,100 people per million who are dying from toxic drugs. It is off the chart.
I have been asking, and New Democrats have been asking, for the federal government to come up with a plan, a timeline and resources to respond to this health emergency. In fact, not only has the Liberal government failed to do that, but it also has not spent even 1% of what it spent on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Why is that? It is because of the stigma. That is the only reason it has not responded. There are solutions out there.
I took it upon myself to go to Portugal last summer, on my own dime, to learn from Portugal, because it had six deaths per million. To paint the picture of how many people are dying in Canada, just to put things in perspective, more people have died in Canada from a toxic drug supply than in all of the European Union, with a population of over 450 million people.
The Portuguese story is quite interesting, because that country had a massive drug crisis that was claiming the lives of many people in the mid-nineties. Over 1,000 people were dying, primarily heroin users. There were 1,000 heroin users in a population of 10 million people. Just to put things in perspective, in my home province of British Columbia, we have 100,000 chronic substance users in a population of five million people. We have double what they had, in terms of per capita usage, of chronic substance users.
The Portuguese realized it was a health emergency and responded like it was a health emergency. They convened a table of experts. They decided to move forward with expert-based policy. They created treatment on demand and a safer supply of substances. They scaled up. They had 250 people on methadone at the start of their program, and they scaled that up to 35,000 in two years. They used the military to create labs, to lower the cost and to get supply out the door. Today, they have 20,000 chronic substance users. They focused on harm reduction, making sure that people got the support they did.
I will talk about the politicians and what they did. They were the heroes. They took the gloves off, stepped out of the way, stopped playing politics and got rid of their ideology. Portugal focused on evidence-based decision-making led by experts, and put forward a plan with resources, a timeline and a strategy. It was unbelievable.
We actually had an expert task force on substance use from Health Canada. What did the federal government do? It chose to ignore them. There is still no plan, no timeline and no resources. When is the government going to treat this as a true public health emergency? Where is the urgency?
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- May/31/23 3:22:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a year ago tomorrow, most of the Liberal caucus and all Conservatives teamed up to defeat Bill C-216 for a health-based approach to substance use. If it had passed, today we would have a multi-faceted plan to fight the toxic drug crisis, based on the recommendations of the government's own expert task force. Instead, thousands more families have lost loved ones because of poisoned drugs purchased on the street.
When will the government deliver a comprehensive plan to keep people who use drugs alive and provide no-fee, on-demand treatment for those who need help now?
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- May/30/23 10:10:27 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to table this petition today on behalf of moms, family members and loved ones of those who have died from a toxic, poisoned drug supply. This has become one of the most deadly public health emergencies of our lifetime, with approximately 21 deaths a day and a death toll of over 35,000 people in the last six years. This toxic drug crisis rages.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to declare the overdose crisis a national public health emergency. It is timely, because one year ago this week, the House defeated a bill that called on the government to take steps to end overdose deaths and overdoses injuries.
The petitioners call on the government to immediately collaborate with the provinces and territories to develop a comprehensive, pan-Canadian overdose action plan. They want to ensure that any plan considers reforms that other countries have used, including ensuring there is a safer supply of substances, stopping the criminalization of people who use substances and changing flawed drug policy and policing. They want to ensure this emergency is taken seriously with adequately funded programming and supports that will save lives.
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- Apr/18/23 10:12:17 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to table this petition mere days after the seventh anniversary of British Columbia's announcement of a public health emergency regarding the toxic drug crisis.
This petition was led by Moms Stop the Harm. I want to thank the moms. I want to thank the dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents, children and community members of those who have lost loved ones due to the toxic drug crisis. They are calling on the government to act, to join British Columbia in taking action in what is one of the most deadly public health emergencies in our lifetime and which is claiming approximately 21 deaths and lives every day.
The undersigned call upon the Government of Canada to declare the toxic drug crisis a national public health emergency. They want the government to take steps to end the toxic drug deaths and overdose injuries immediately and collaborate with provinces and territories to develop a comprehensive pan-Canadian overdose action plan, including treatment on demand, decriminalization, provision of a safer supply of substances and investments in education recovery. They want to ensure this emergency is taken seriously with adequately funded programming and supports.
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- Feb/6/23 6:37:02 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is timely that I table this petition given that we are on the eve of the critical meeting between premiers and the Prime Minister to talk about health.
The petitioners are talking about the health crisis right now, about the poisoned drug supply and the toxicity of those drugs that are killing valued citizens, like mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and family members of people in our communities.
They cite that the war on drugs has allowed organized crime to be the sole provider of most controlled substances. That has resulted in widespread stigma. They are calling on the Government of Canada to reform current drug policies, to decriminalize simple possession of drugs listed in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and to provide a path for expungement of conviction records for those convicted of simple possession.
Lastly, with urgency, they ask to implement a health-based, national strategy for providing access to a regulated safer supply of drugs and expand trauma-informed, just-in-time treatment, recovery, harm reduction services, and public education and awareness campaigns throughout Canada to save lives and take this epidemic head-on.
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- Dec/5/22 3:28:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to rise to table a petition on behalf of constituents from Courtenay, Cumberland and Royston in my riding. They cite that over 29,000 Canadians died due to opioid toxicity between January 2016 and December 2021. Those who died as a result of this preventable drug-toxicity crisis were loved and valued citizens of this country.
The petitioners are calling on the government to reform drug policy to decriminalize simple possession of drugs listed in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act; provide a path for expungement of conviction records for those convicted of simple possession; and, with urgency, implement a health-based national strategy for providing access to a regulated safer supply of drugs and expand trauma-informed treatment, recovery and harm-reduction services and public education and awareness campaigns throughout Canada.
The petitioners cite that the current drug policies have proven to be ineffective in the prevention of substance use and exacerbate substance-use harms and risks, that the war on drugs has resulted in widespread stigma toward those who use controlled substances and that the war on drugs has allowed organized crime to be the sole provider of most controlled substances.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to table a petition today on behalf of constituents from Comox Valley, Courtenay and Cumberland in my riding and those of my colleague from north Vancouver Island.
The petitioners cite that 27,000 Canadians have died since 2016 due to preventable drug poisoning resulting from a toxic drug supply. The war on drugs has resulted in widespread stigma toward those who use controlled drugs and substances, and it has allowed organized crime to be the sole provider of substances. Problematic substance use is a health issue and is not resolved through criminalizing personal possession and consumption.
They call on the Government of Canada to reform drug policy to decriminalize simple possession of drugs listed in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, something that is recommended by the expert task force on substance use; provide a path for expungement of conviction records for those convicted of personal possession; with urgency, implement a health-based national strategy for providing access to a regulated safer supply of drugs; and expand trauma-informed treatment, recovery and harm reduction services and public education awareness campaigns throughout Canada.
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Madam Speaker, I am tabling a petition on behalf of people from my riding. They cite that over 27,000 Canadians have died since 2016 due to preventable drug poisoning from a toxic drug supply.
They cite that our current drug policy has proven to be ineffective in the prevention of substance use and exasperates its harmful effects, and that the war on drugs has resulted in widespread stigma toward those who use controlled substances. The war on drugs has allowed organized crime to be the sole provider of substances. They cite that problematic substance use is a health issue that is not resolved through criminalizing personal possession and consumption.
Petitioners call on the government to reform drug policy to decriminalize simple possession of drugs listed in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act; to provide a path for expungement of conviction records for those convicted of simple possession; with urgency, to implement a health-based national strategy for providing access to a regulated safer supply of drugs; to expand trauma-informed treatment, recovery and harm-reduction services and public education awareness campaigns throughout Canada; and to support the health-based approach to substance use act.
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- Oct/20/22 7:21:12 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we know the mental health crisis has been referred to as the parallel pandemic. This House has not had a debate on how to respond to this. Earlier this month, I rose and sought an emergency debate on Canada’s mental health crisis, but unfortunately it was denied.
I want to thank the minister, as she acknowledged tonight we have never had this conversation about mental health until tonight and we have never had a proper debate. I want to thank the Conservatives and the Bloc and their House leaders for agreeing to have this important conversation, because it took all parties to agree to do this take-note debate.
Over the last two and a half years, the mental health of Canadians has been negatively impacted by the loss, social isolation and financial strain the pandemic has brought. We all have constituents struggling with their mental health, and many of us have loved ones who are as well. My good friend from Vancouver Kingsway always says that there is not a family not touched by the mental health or substance use crisis in this country.
I really want to thank my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George for sharing his personal story about his brother Kevin and his brother-in-law. We hear those personal stories from our constituents every day as parliamentarians, and it is painful to hear.
We know we are going into a period where we are seeing a lot of impacts right now on people's health. The cost of living is rapidly rising and likely we are going to see a recession. The stress Canadians are facing has not abated. Just yesterday, the Minister of Finance warned Canadians of difficult days ahead and suggested the federal government might not be there to help.
Now more than ever we must recognize that mental health is health, and we need to take steps to ensure Canadians have equitable access to the services they need. This month, the Mental Health Commission of Canada and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction released a joint report on the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Canadians, which detailed some alarming findings.
According to polling conducted for the report, 35% of respondents reported moderate to severe mental health concerns. We see that as parliamentarians. It also found that fewer than one in three people with current mental health concerns accessed services. That is alarming. The report identified key barriers to accessing services as “financial constraints, not having readily available help, not knowing how and where to get help, and long wait-lists.”
The report identified financial concerns as a top stressor during the pandemic and discussed the links between income and unemployment with mental health concerns. Given the current economic forecast, there is a real risk the mental health and substance use crisis will worsen in the months ahead. That is scary. As my colleagues have identified, 10 Canadians die a day from suicide and 21 from a toxic overdose.
We also know health care workers and first responders have been raising the alarm that our health care system is under tremendous pressure. Unfortunately, too many people struggling with mental health issues are left with nowhere to turn but crowded emergency rooms. A worsening mental health and substance use crisis will only push our health care system closer to collapse.
It is clear we need to make sure people can get help in their communities before they are in crisis. While there are many great organizations working hard to support Canadians struggling with mental health issues, we know they are running on fumes. The demand for mental health services has increased since the onset of the pandemic, but that demand cannot be met under the current system when frontline organizations are having to worry about keeping the lights on. They need help and they need help now.
We need system change that will finally bring mental health care fully into our universal public health care system once and for all. We need sustainable funding to ensure all Canadians have access to services when they need them.
In the last election, the Liberals made a promise to Canadians that they would take steps to improve access to mental health care in Canada. A cornerstone of the Liberals’ promises on mental health was to establish a new permanent transfer to the provinces and territories to expand publicly funded mental health care and address backlogs. Canadians were told an initial investment of $4.5 billion over five years would be made in the Canada mental health transfer.
Now, $250 million of that funding was supposed to be delivered in 2021-22, with an additional $625 million in 2022-23. To date, of that money, no funding has been delivered. There has been no transparency from the government on when the money would get out the door.
Last week the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, with the support of 65 organizations from health and allied sectors, wrote an open letter to the minister expressing concern about the delay in establishing the mental health transfer and calling on the government to take immediate steps to fulfill this important and critical campaign commitment.
The minister has taken the position that national performance standards must be developed prior to the creation of the Canada mental health transfer. However, the open letter I referred to demonstrated there is a clear consensus from the mental health community that the development of these standards should not delay the Canada mental health transfer. There is an urgent need for increased mental health services in communities right across the country. Wait times for publicly funded mental health services are unacceptably long.
In Ontario, where we are right now, there are more than 28,000 children on wait-lists for community-based mental health services. The wait could range from 67 days to more than 2.5 years, depending on the service, exceeding clinically appropriate wait times. For children and youth, delays in accessing care could have lifelong impacts for them, their family and society. Tragically, it could also be a matter of life and death.
According to Stats Canada, suicide is the leading cause of death among youth and young adults aged 15 to 34. This has touched my life and those of many people here in this chamber, as we have discussed tonight. UNICEF has reported that Canada has one of the highest rates of youth suicide in the world. We heard my colleague from Nunavut just two days ago share that tragic story of someone who could not find housing. This is unacceptable in a wealthy country like Canada. It is preventable.
For those struggling with substance use disorders, waiting could also be a matter of life and death. Across Canada the average wait time for adult residential treatment for substance use is 100 days. Every day that someone must wait for access to treatment or harm reduction services, they are put at risk because of the toxic drug supply.
The Canada mental health transfer would provide an infusion of money for services that could save lives now. It is urgently needed, but there is other critical work that must be done to transform mental health here in Canada. Beyond the mental health transfer, mental health advocates have been long calling for legislation to enshrine law parity between mental and physical health.
Last month I tabled private member's Motion No. 67, and I hope my colleagues will second it, calling on the government to finally develop that legislation and urgently fulfill its promise to establish the Canada mental health transfer. I hope all members of the House will recognize the crisis we are in and support these urgently needed calls to action.
Untreated or inadequately treated mental health carries significant social and economic costs. The Mental Health Commission of Canada estimates that mental health issues and illnesses cost Canada at least $50 billion a year, not including the more than $6 billion in lost productivity.
Relative to the disease burden caused by mental health and compared to our G7 and OECD peers, Canada is underspending on mental health. France spends 15% of its health care budget on mental health, whereas the U.K. spends 13%. Canada, depending on the province or territory, spends between 5% and 7%. We are falling way short.
For the well-being of Canadians, for our economy and our communities, mental health cannot wait. It is time to invest in the care Canadians deserve, and to truly treat mental health like health. We need to listen to the experts. We need to listen to the expert task force on substance use. We need to listen to the 67 organizations. I hope that together we can do that.
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Mr. Speaker, today I table a petition on behalf of constituents of mine from Courtenay. They are stating that over 30,000 Canadians have died since 2016 due to preventable drug poisoning resulting from a toxic drug supply. They say that those who died as a result of the preventable drug toxicity crisis were loved and valued citizens of this country. They were children, siblings, spouses, parents, family members, clients and friends. They state that our current drug policy has proven to be ineffective in the prevention of substance use and exacerbates its harmful effects. They say that the war on drugs has resulted in widespread stigma toward those who use controlled substances, that the war on drugs has allowed organized crime to be the sole provider of substances, and that problematic substance use is a health issue and is not resolved through criminalizing personal possession and consumption.
They call on the government to reform drug policy, to decriminalize simple possession and to provide a path for the expungement of conviction records for those convicted of simple possession. They ask the government, with urgency, to implement a health-based national strategy for providing access to a regulated and safer supply of drugs and to expand trauma-informed treatment, recovery and harm-reduction services and public education and awareness campaigns throughout Canada.
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- May/19/22 5:05:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there are things I truly appreciated in my colleague's speech and things I do not agree with. One thing he touched on were the wait times at the airports. When we see the wait times at airports or passport services, we know the government has not adequately staffed the resources to respond to the increase in the amount of travel.
We have constantly heard complaints like these from Conservatives over the years. It is always a surprise to me when Conservatives say there are not enough public servants. They cut services, then they complain about it. The repercussions are delays in service. We saw that happen with Veterans Affairs under the Stephen Harper government. It cut a third of Veterans Affairs, and that made a backlog that exists even to this day.
Does my good friend and colleague not agree in the importance of investing in public services to support Canadians and make sure that they get the services they deserve and need?
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- May/19/22 4:49:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, this is a really important issue and we are hearing from many people in my riding. Certainly, we believe that health measures should be informed by health science and not politics.
We heard Dr. Tam in March, stating that a full re-evaluation of Canada's pandemic measures would be done and that she would report back to Canadians. We are at the end of May. People have concerns. Trust in public health measures requires explaining the arguments and sharing the evidence they are based on.
For two years, the government was in front of Canadians, answering questions. We cannot find it now. It is not in front of Canadians, answering questions about this. To have trust, the government needs to be fully transparent with Canadians with the evidence behind any of the remaining health measures.
Does my colleague not agree that Liberals are failing to answer the questions of Canadians? They need to come forward quickly to ensure that there is trust in Canadians.
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- May/19/22 4:19:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I really appreciate a lot of the comments from my colleague. I too share her frustration. I mean my office right now is getting absolutely inundated by calls from people who are waiting for their passports. As well, the time that they are waiting at airports is completely unacceptable. We know that none of this is a surprise. People were planning on travelling as soon as the travel restrictions eased.
Can my colleague speak to how important it is for the government not only to hire staff but to ensure that the public service is fully resourced and that employees of the public service are paid good fair wages, especially in a labour market shortage like right now?
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- Apr/6/22 3:38:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to table a petition today related to the toxic drug supply and the 27,000 deaths that are mounting in this country because of the lack of action.
The petitioners specifically call upon the Government of Canada to declare the overdose crisis a national public health emergency. They call on the government to take steps to end the overdose deaths due to a poisoned drug supply, and they want the government to immediately collaborate with the provinces and territories to develop a comprehensive strategy and action plan to address this crisis. They want that plan to ensure there is regulation of drugs and ensure we have a safe supply. They also want decriminalization for personal use and changes to flawed drug policy and policing. This emergency should be taken serious with adequately funded programs and supports.
This is the eve of a budget. I am honoured to table this petition today.
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- Mar/24/22 3:14:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I just now observed my good friend and colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands trying to get through a question in this House and the amount of heckling that came from this side is completely unacceptable.
We have had huge challenges in attracting women, not just to run for politics but to actually stay in politics. I want to remind men in this House of the important role they play when it comes to their conduct in any violence against women and attacks on women in this place. What I just heard happen is unacceptable.
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- Feb/7/22 1:01:00 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-8
Madam Speaker, I am going to read a quote from February 13, 2020, from the member for Carleton. On the protesting of indigenous land defenders, he said, “These blockaders are taking away the freedom of other people to move their goods and themselves. That is wrong and the government has laws and tools in place to combat it.”
Right now we are seeing an occupation in a Canadian city, and the member for Carleton, and the Conservative caucus primarily, are standing with the occupiers. We are seeing horrible acts.
If this is the way protests are going to take place and the Conservatives want to govern in this country, how do they expect to govern if they are supporting occupations and protests done in a new way like this? Maybe the member could explain.
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- Feb/1/22 10:06:00 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour today to table a petition regarding the overdose crisis and the preventable opioid overdoses resulting from fentanyl-poisoned drugs. It is timely, as we lost people in my community over the weekend to a poisoned drug supply.
The petitioners from Port Alberni are calling on the government to declare that the current overdose crisis and fentanyl poisoning crisis is a national public health emergency under the Emergencies Act in order to properly manage and resource it with the aim to reduce and eliminate preventable deaths. The petitioners want to reform drug policy to decriminalize personal possession and create, with urgency and immediacy, a system to provide safe, unadulterated access to substances so that people who use substances experimentally, recreationally or chronically are not at imminent risk of overdose because of a contaminated source.
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- Dec/14/21 3:18:04 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, it is a huge privilege and honour to rise today to speak to Bill C-5.
I also want to take the opportunity to thank the people of Courtenay—Alberni for re-electing me for the third time. I am deeply honoured. I also want to extend my thanks not just to my supporters but to my family as well, especially my three children, who have been there supporting me on this incredible journey to fight for our country and for their future.
When it comes to Bill C-5, we are hearing a lot from the Liberals that this is a silver-bullet approach to addressing racial injustice and the overdose crisis by eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for drug offences and a few other firearms and tobacco offences. This is naive, and it is misplaced.
As New Democrats, we support removing mandatory minimum penalties for all but the most serious offences. This means that we support the removal of mandatory minimums for all drug offences, expanding access to alternative incentives for personal possession and diversion programs. Decriminalization of personal possession remains the preferred option for minor offences, as it would remove police, prosecutors and courts as barriers to addiction treatment.
When it comes to the crisis we are dealing with, we need to ensure that we are taking action quickly. The idea of making conditional sentencing more widely available for court sentences for minor drug cases is just not enough to address the runaway public health emergency, this opioid crisis, that is taking place, which is in parallel to the COVID crisis.
A simpler and less costly approach is the full decriminalization of possession of drugs for personal use and the expungement of previous criminal records for personal possession, combined with access for drug users to get a regular safe supply, treatment and supportive housing. We are talking about a comprehensive strategy to address the overdose emergency and save lives. This needs to happen urgently.
We could be debating a more comprehensive strategy, but instead the government has put very little effort in the bill before us, choosing instead to reintroduce almost exactly the same bill from the 43rd Parliament, which could have been passed. Instead, they held an unnecessary and costly election. The Liberals have failed.
Canadians who use drugs must be free from the threat of criminalization and the fear of losing their liberty and access to substances on which they depend. Criminal records for personal possession must be expunged to remove an often insurmountable barrier to employment and housing. We must assure the right of users to a safe supply of low-barrier, regulated drugs as an alternative to the poisoned substances, which are resulting in an epidemic of overdose deaths. Access to treatment therapies that address the root causes of drug use must be available as a component of public health in our system, and supportive housing, complete with the wraparound services essential for maintaining healthy lifestyle balance, must be made available.
New Democrats are not alone in calling for a comprehensive approach to addressing the overdose crisis and the implementation of these measures. We are in good company.
First and foremost, Canadians across the country support the overall decriminalization of possession for personal use. With every passing month, the calls for decriminalization become louder, as Canadians are confronted with the evidence of the overdose public health emergency in their communities.
Every one of us in the House dreads the call from a constituent who has lost a son, daughter, parent or friend to an overdose from a poisoned drug supply. I have received this call far too often over my six years in the House, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the majority of my constituents know a family affected by the tragedy of overdose.
I hear from them about drug users hiding in the shadows in fear of apprehension and criminal prosecution. In fact, my daughter was just at the funeral a week and a half ago of her friend, an 18-year-old young woman who died from a poisoned drug supply. Sadly, this situation is not uncommon to hear about in the House.
In addition to hearing from everyday Canadians, we have heard from public health experts from across the country. Dr. Bonnie Henry, the B.C. provincial health officer in my province, continues to call for decriminalization. Most recently, Dr. de Villa, the medical officer of health for the City of Toronto, as well as the former medical officer of health for Yukon, who now sits in the House, and their colleagues from one municipality and provincial jurisdiction to another, from coast to coast to coast, are pleading for simple possession to be decriminalized.
It is not a matter for the criminal justice system. It is a health issue. We keep hearing the government say it is a health issue, but it is still treating it as a criminal issue. In this bill, the government is continuing to do that.
These are the same public health experts that I just mentioned, who guided our response in the COVID-19 pandemic. We listened to them and heeded their professional advice often, and now we are ignoring them when it comes to the opioid crisis. They are saying the same thing, that we need evidence-based science to lead us out of this terrible crisis, and they are being ignored by the government. They are calling for decriminalization of possession of illicit drugs. This bill could have done that.
Standing with the public health community are Canada's police chiefs, who also called for decriminalization. They know first-hand the failure of the criminalization of drug use. They know first-hand the deadly consequences of exposure to an increasingly toxic supply of street drugs across this country. Increasingly, we are hearing the same message from local and national media across the country. It is like Groundhog Day. Every day we read another editorial by journalists who are hearing from their readers and seeing the evidence of a public health emergency that requires the decriminalization of personal possession, the expungement of criminal records, access to a safe supply of low-barrier regulated drugs, therapeutic support through treatment programs, and supportive housing for those in need.
We are in good company in calling for these measures. Public health experts, law enforcement officials, the media and everyday Canadians across the country, persuaded by overwhelming evidence, have determined that exposure to death by overdose must stop now.
The evidence that is underpinning this call for a comprehensive approach is an 87% increase in opioid overdose deaths in Manitoba last year over the previous year. In British Columbia, as we just heard, there were over 200 deaths in one month. That is the most on record. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it worse, forcing the closure of harm reduction locations and driving users further underground. Currently it is estimated that eight people are dying every day in Ontario, over six in B.C., and 20 across our country. In fact, the overdoses have increased in all regions of this country. We are seeing how it is disproportionately impacting Black, indigenous and racialized Canadians.
In October, B.C. chief coroner Lisa Lapointe noted that illicit drug toxicity killed 201 people, the same number as an entire year of deaths 10 years ago. She is calling for a regulated safer supply and decriminalized possession of small amounts for personal use. Just last week, she said that a comprehensive plan to ensure access to safe supply is essential. Shifting from a punishment and stigmatizing regime to a decriminalized, health-focused model is a critical step in reducing suffering and saving lives.
Again, we keep hearing from the Liberals that they are treating this as a health issue. We have heard the overwhelming advice from police chiefs and health officials that we need to take the first steps, which are decriminalization of personal possession and providing a safe supply.
Why has the Liberal government chosen not to listen to its own health professionals? To end the stigma, the government needs to act, but the stigma starts with the Prime Minister. He has not taken action. He is ignoring his own health experts. He is ignoring parents. He is ignoring the moms and the dads, the parents who have lost loved ones.
I am going to go straight to Gary Mason, who wrote this in The Globe and Mail:
I feel a sense of hopelessness. Giving out free drugs such as heroin to “addicts” just seems to be too big a leap for governments and society generally. Allowing people to die from their addictions is easier to accept. Which is just crazy when you think about it. Imagine seeing more than 8,500 people die from a drug overdose in just over five years as easier to accept than making a courageous effort to do something that could really make a difference.
At this point, what is there to lose?
I guess the answer is votes.
It is true that politicians are in the way of saving lives right now, and people are dying as a result of the inaction.
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