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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 108

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 5, 2022 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 108 - Oct/5/22
Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)
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.
221 words
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