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House Hansard - 319

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 28, 2024 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 319 - May/28/24
Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay (South Surrey—White Rock, CPC)
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-391, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (possession of weapons and drugs in hospitals). She said: Mr. Speaker, under the radical and extremist Liberal-NDP government, our hospitals, once sanctuaries of care and safety, have become infested with chaos, drugs and weapons. In B.C. specifically, we have heard countless reports from the B.C. Nurses' Union of staff being exposed to fentanyl and meth smoke in their workplace. A nurse on Vancouver Island was exposed to hard drug smoke at work. The exposure was so bad that she required emergency care and was told to stop breastfeeding her baby. In April, five nurses on one shift all had to be treated in emergency due to fentanyl smoke exposure. This is at a time when we have an urgent shortage of nurses, patients waiting for OR time and cancer patients being sent to Washington state for treatment. This is the reality after nine years of the NDP-Liberal government. Doctors and nurses should feel safe at work. Vulnerable patients should not be concerned about the presence of dangerous weapons while they are receiving care in our hospitals. This is common sense. That is why I am introducing the safe hospitals act. This act would toughen sentences for criminals who bring weapons into hospitals to ensure the punishment fits the serious crime that it is. This act would also ban ministers of the Crown from granting an exemption to allow open, unsupervised and unprescribed hard drug use in hospitals. It is common-sense legislation to protect doctors, nurses and patients. I look forward to this bill receiving the unanimous support of all parties. It will stop the crime and the chaos.
295 words
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