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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 200

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 18, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 200 - May/18/23
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)
  • 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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Context: House Hansard - 200 - May/18/23
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux
  • 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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