44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 18, 2023 10:00AM
- May/18/23 11:14:15 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that important question, and no, I will not answer him in the same way.
The government's approach is built on four main pillars: harm reduction, supervised consumption sites, treatment and enforcement. This comprehensive and holistic approach provides a variety of solutions for people using drugs. It is a complex problem that affects everyone differently. We do not know why people use drugs. We do not know each person's specific reason. That is why we have to offer them a range of solutions so that they can find the one that works best for them.
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- May/18/23 11:15:16 a.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, could I ask the member to talk in more detail about one of the four pillars and the importance of safe consumption sites? I do not know there is enough understanding about the importance of these places.
Could she please provide more detail about why they are so important?
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- May/18/23 1:02:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are hearing a lot about stats and numbers. The one that really sinks in for me personally is the fact that we have seen reversed overdoses through safe consumption sites, to the tune of over 45,000 since 2017. Let us think about the profound impact that has had on thousands of lives. That is the number that comes to my mind. It is a very real and tangible number. All one needs to do is listen to what people near safe consumption sites have to say and what the first responders and the many different experts are saying.
A number of years ago, when I was sitting with third party status, we had a big debate about consumption sites. The reason we were debating them then was that the Conservative Party wanted to shut down Insite, a consumption site located in downtown east Vancouver. They wanted to shut it down. If it had not been for a Supreme Court of Canada decision, they might have been successful at shutting it down. Because the Supreme Court gave a wake-up call to Steven Harper, ultimately that site was able to survive.
If we take a look at how that site came to be, I think it amplifies or exemplifies why it is that we need to recognize that it is not just about one government alone. It takes a community. Individuals, the province, the municipality and first responders all came to the table and articulated a wide spectrum of reasons and rationale as to why consumption sites are important. That happened many years ago. It was about two decades ago. What we saw was that Steven Harper attempted to shut it down. He was the prime minister, and he attempted to shut it down. That is—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/18/23 1:13:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I listened to this debate intently for the last couple of hours, and this is controlled frustration, anger and seething. I have been vocal and very upfront about how this crisis has impacted my family personally. I lost a brother-in-law. My brother is on the street, gripped with addictions.
The Liberal Party's talking point today is that their program has saved 45,000 people. Safe consumption sites and safe supply are two different things. There are many tools in the tool box.
Of those 45,000 people who overdosed and were brought back, how many are still alive today? I ask, because the first responders I am meeting with are saying they will save somebody in the morning, and then a few hours later that very same person is overdosing again. Those numbers are false, because they do not take into account whether those people are still alive.
What we are saying today is that we have to do more to save these people. Safe supply is one tool in the tool box, but it is not working. We cannot prescribe one without the whole tool box.
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- May/18/23 1:14:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member is looking for a hard and fast number. What I know and feel very confident in is that thousands of lives have been saved, not just for a 24-hour period of time. What we hear from the Conservatives is that those lives do not matter. We—
An hon. member: No one is saying that.
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: That is what they are saying. They are saying to shut down the consumption sites.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/18/23 1:15:11 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, if the Conservatives are all that offended, they can stand up and say they will support the consumption sites. If they are not prepared to say that, they should bite their tongues.
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- May/18/23 1:18:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the government has stepped up in working with the different stakeholders. We deal with prevention, enforcement, treatment and harm reduction. We are working the best we can, not only from a financial point of view but also from a legislative point of view, in order to save lives and do the right thing.
I am still waiting for one Conservative to stand up and say they actually support consumption sites.
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- May/18/23 1:28:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, one of thing I have been having trouble with in the debate today is that there are certain elements of an entire spectrum of care required for the opioid crisis, but one is being pulled out as if it is the only one being proposed by the government, which is not true.
Also, the experience in my community seems to be very different from what I hear from the members opposite. In 2022 in Toronto, 1,900 overdoses were reversed because of safe consumption sites. They actually saved the lives of almost 2,000 people in my home city. There is a safe consumption site in my own community, and our experience with it is that it has provided a place of safety to people in need. We are not seeing the same impacts being described.
Does the member opposite not see any value in saving lives, as I have said are being saved in Toronto, and in ensuring we provide an entire continuum of services?
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- May/18/23 4:59:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his very reasonable speech in response to the quite unreasonable motion before the House.
In doing so, I would like to ask if he agrees with me on this. On Vancouver Island, there are more than a dozen overdose prevention sites, which people like to call safe consumption sites. They save hundreds of lives every year, but they also help connect those with addiction problems to social services and treatment programs in the community.
Does he agree with me that the closure of those overdose prevention sites would contribute to more deaths and a larger number of addiction problems in the community?
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- May/18/23 5:12:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, during today's debate, the Liberals have been conflating safe supply and safe consumption sites. They are two separate policies. The reality is that the member for Brampton Centre said safe consumption sites saved 45,000 lives.
However, anyone who has spent some time on the Downtown Eastside or in the Fraser Health region in my community, which has even higher overdose death rates than Vancouver, knows that someone who has an overdose could receive good care from there, but that is not preventing them from accessing and using fentanyl and other illicit drugs in conjunction with the free drugs they are getting from safe supply providers.
If the policies the government is pushing so hard are good, why do the death rates continue to increase in my community? Why do the death rates across British Columbia continue to increase? Why have the death rates continued to increase since the government decriminalized fentanyl?
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- May/18/23 5:16:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, at supervised consumption sites in Canada, there have been more than 236,000 referrals to health and social services. These referrals are supporting individuals on their path to recovery and wellness, so that means the plan is working.
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