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Member of Parliament

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of Parliament
  • Liberal
  • Beaches—East York
  • Ontario
  • Voting Attendance: 63%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $123,505.63

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 26 - Feb/8/22
Mr. Nathaniel Erskine-Smith
  • Feb/8/22 8:46:06 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Madam Chair, I will say two things. I worked closely with the president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Bryan Larkin, to ensure that a bill I introduced in the House had their support. By the way, that bill is now part of Bill C-5, and that bill has their support. Regardless of new spending, that bill will have the support of the chiefs of police, and I hope it has the support of my Conservative colleagues. It is my genuine hope that we rally across parties in the House and we do the right thing. Of course we need more money to expand treatment options. I would say I actually do not want police to be the first responders for what is fundamentally a mental health crisis in an individual's life. I do not think that is the appropriate response. I think Portugal is probably too coercive, and Bill C-5 is probably too coercive in that way. We should get police focusing on criminals, not focusing on people suffering from mental health problems. Ideally, that is the answer. To the member's point, we absolutely need much more significant funding to expand treatment options. That is an area I think we could work together on.
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