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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 117

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 25, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 117 - Oct/25/22
Mr. Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, GP)
  • Oct/25/22 10:06:56 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of petitioners who recognize that the poisoned drug crisis is a public health emergency. They state and make clear that more than 26,690 people across the country have died opioid-related deaths and that groups like the Canadian Public Health Association have recommended drug decriminalization. As a result, the petitioners call on this House to declare a public health emergency due to these deaths, to reframe this crisis as a public health issue and not a criminal justice one, to take a comprehensive, multi-faced approach to this crisis, to listen to recommendations from those on the front lines and to decriminalize drugs across the country.
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Context: House Hansard - 117 - Oct/25/22
Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)
Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for trying to bring forward solutions to the crisis we are facing, the mental health care and substance use crisis the country is facing. We know the United Nations' Nelson Mandela rules provide that the quality of health care provided to incarcerated persons must be equivalent to that available to the general population. That is not happening right now. That is clear. I am also concerned, as my Liberal colleague was, about the fact that this bill might prevent people who want help from accessing it. In its current form right now, the bill proposes to exclude individuals convicted of certain offences, including drug trafficking offences, from its scope. This ignores individuals who have substance use disorders who become involved in substance trafficking. Maybe my colleague could explain why they are excluded in the current form of this bill, because it excludes a lot of people who need help.
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