Diane Marleau

[Excise Act, February 22nd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to speak to the section of Bill C-11 which will amend the Tobacco Sales to Young Persons Act. Action on the proposed amendment is one more important step in our ongoing efforts to address the problem of tobacco consumption, particularly among Canadian youth.

The Tobacco Sales to Young Persons Act was proclaimed into law Tuesday, February 8, as a component of the government's anti-smuggling initiative. It raises the legal age of purchase from 16 to 18. It restricts the location of cigarette vending machines to bars, taverns and similar beverage rooms. It also increases the penalties for selling tobacco to minors.

A new range of fines has been established for any sale to persons under the age of 18 and includes sales through a vending machine. For a first offence the fine will be up to $1,000, for a second offence up to $2,000, up to $10,000 for a third offence, and for subsequent offences a fine of up to $50,000 can be levied.

The amendment now before us relates to kiddie packs of cigarettes, as they are commonly known. Kiddie packs are packages that contain fewer than 20 cigarettes and are usually available in packs of 15 and 5. I have seen these kiddie packs. They often look like a chocolate bar. It is very surprising to see these packages of cigarettes that could be any kind of a chocolate bar being sold to young people with no questions asked. It is very important we ban them.

Kiddie packs began to appear in Canadian stores in the late 1980s. Producers of tobacco products said at the time that they had taken that approach to please adult smokers but, like Canadian health organizations, I believe that their availability increases the risk that young people start smoking.

Those packages have a special appeal for young people because they look attractive and their price is lower than that of regular packages. They are more affordable for young people who do not have much money, and younger people find them easier to hide from parents and teachers. As I said, some

packages contain only five cigarettes, and look like a chocolate bar.

A poll taken in Nova Scotia in 1990 indicated that the majority of teenagers who smoke buy kiddie packs. Among sixth grade smokers, in the 11 to 13 age group, almost half of them buy kiddie packs. That research was done four years ago, but the situation is probably the same today.

Bill C-11 will prohibit the sale of packages containing fewer than 20 cigarettes. It will also prohibit tobacco manufacturers from producing packages that contain fewer than 20 cigarettes. For selling and for offering for sale kiddie packs, the legislation provides for a maximum sentence on summary conviction of a $2,000 fine or six months, or both. On conviction on indictment the maximum sentence is a fine of $100,000 or two years, or both. For producing kiddie packs the maximum sentence on a summary conviction is a $200,000 fine or six months, or both. On conviction on indictment the maximum sentence is a $500,000 fine or two years, or both.

The government recognized that the action plan to combat smuggling and the tax measures associated with it would pose health risks. Let me assure members that we are just as determined to deal with tobacco use as we are with the smuggling problem. This amendment is just one more step in our efforts to eliminate tobacco consumption.

The action plan included a very strong health component. One element of that was legislative. In this area we have taken immediate action through proclamation of the Tobacco Sales to Young Persons Act and introduction of the amendment concerning kiddie packs.

We are also moving to give more teeth to law enforcement. Some 300 Health Canada inspectors have already been designated under the law and, as an interim measure, they will be available to monitor law enforcement while carrying out other tasks. During the next two months, we will publish a training kit and new inspectors will be hired to take over and control the enforcement of the Tobacco Sales to Young Persons Act.

Other ongoing enforcement activities include sending to all retailers in Canada explanatory letters and signs. Those signs must be posted in a prominent position in all places where tobacco products are found or sold. Any retailer who refuses to post those signs indicating that it is prohibited selling tobacco products to persons less than 18 years old will be liable to a fine up to $250.

We will also put ads in newspapers to inform retailers of their obligations under the new act.

As well we are looking at what action might be taken in such areas as plain packaging and product standards. Plain packaging contains no distinctive colouring, although it would permit the use of trademarks. Many health advocates feel that plain packaging, making products less distinct and promotion much more difficult would be an effective deterrent.

In the area of products standards, we are looking forward to bringing new regulations requiring manufacturers to provide information on the packages about the chemical compounds contained in tobacco and tobacco smoke.

A comprehensive educational campaign is also being mounted. It will be aimed at the general public and at key groups, such as young people and women, and will be developed in consultation with the provincial and territorial governments and the non-government health organization.

Action has already begun on a number of promotional-educational activities. A national media campaign began last week directed primarily at young people through the radio and television stations they most often watch and listen to.

We will also be working closely with our health group and provincial government partners to develop a system for monitoring tobacco consumption, particularly by young people. The acquisition of consumption information on a regular basis will be essential in measuring the success of our initiatives and planning the development of even more effective action in the future.

Tobacco use among many groups which are hard to reach is alarming. Those groups do not usually respond to traditional anti-smoking ads. We will be making special efforts to reach them.

We will also make more efforts to reach families, new parents, health care people and other people who are important role models for children. We will support education programs and community activities.

A health surtax will be levied on profits of tobacco products makers for three years to finance special initiatives. We believe that tobacco companies are responsible and that they must pay the price.

We are looking over the next three years at one of the most concerted efforts ever undertaken in the health education field. This is the toughest program that any jurisdiction has taken against tobacco products. During the past several years our co-operative initiatives have been very successful in reducing consumption among the population over age 15. I am confident these new resources will permit us to build on those successes.

To do so will require continued co-operation and close collaboration.

I have had discussions during the past two weeks with representatives of health organizations and with provincial and territorial ministers of health. At my recent meeting with ministers of health I offered to work with them on the best way to use the resources provided in the new federal anti-smoking strategy.

My officials and I are committed to seeking the advice and assistance of these groups as together we strive to reduce the demands for tobacco, the number one cause of preventable death in Canada.

[Controlled Drugs And Substances Act, February 18th, 1994]

moved that Bill C-7, an act respecting the control of certain drugs, their precursors and other substances and to amend certain other acts and repeal the Narcotic Control Act in consequence thereof, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to speak to Bill C-7 today. This bill, the controlled drugs and substances bill, addresses one of the most compelling issues with which society is faced today, the issue of drug abuse.

Members will no doubt recall that Canada's drug strategy launched in 1987 created a comprehensive co-ordinated effort to reduce the harm caused by alcohol and other drugs to individuals, families and communities.

The harm caused by substance abuse includes, among other things, sickness, death, social misery, crime, violence and economic cost to all levels of government.

My department plays a leading role in Canada's drug strategy but we have many partners who co-operate in its implementation. These partners include other federal departments, the provinces, businesses, law enforcement agencies, labour and professional and volunteer organizations.

The strategy responds to four areas of need: prevention; treatment and rehabilitation; information and research; and enforcement and control.

As each member of this House is only too aware, drug abuse and the untold suffering it causes knows no geography, no socio-economic class, no social graces. I would think that every one of us has met constituents who have experienced the anguish of a son or a daughter, a sister or a brother, a friend or a neighbour consumed by the ravages of drug addiction.

The problem is widespread. According to a United Nations survey, trade in illegal drugs is second only to world trade in arms. Such is the clout of the global industry that we are up against in our efforts to control drug abuse in Canada.

Recent statistics reveal that within a single year almost 15 per cent of young Canadians ages 15 to 19 have admitted to using cannabis.

Moreover, the incidence of drug abuse rises considerably among teenagers and young adults who are school drop-outs, unemployed or homeless. Further evidence shows that over a one year period 2 per cent of Canadians claim to have used cocaine.

These are formidable figures. What do they mean? Just what is their significance? They mean heartache; they mean suffering. They mean a toll of crippling misery being exacted on those caught in that seamless web called addiction. The real importance of these figures goes well beyond their statistical relevance. They translate into many millions of dollars spent on health care, family welfare, unemployment benefits and disability pensions.

As a further response to this ongoing challenge, the government announced two years ago its renewed commitment to Canada's drug strategy.

On March 31, 1992, Canada's drug strategy was allocated $270 million over a five year period. Seventy per cent of these funds are directed to reducing demand for drugs through prevention, education and treatment programs. This new bill is one element of the other 30 per cent that is dedicated to law enforcement.

The bill now before us, along with the Proceeds of Crime legislation passed by this House in 1989, are fully consistent with the strategy's objectives relating to enforcement and control.

It takes direct aim at those who seek to profit from exploiting the young and the vulnerable. The bill is intended to consolidate, modernize, enhance and streamline the government's drug control policy underlying two current Acts of Parliament; and to fulfil Canada's obligations under three international conventions.

In 1961, the government of the day enacted the Narcotic Control Act. In 1961 and 1969, Parliament passed Parts III and IV in essence, much of our existing legislative framework is now more than 30 years old.

Furthermore, as signatory to three international agreements on the illegal drug trade, Canada is obligated to the terms of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 and the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychoactive Substances of 1988.

Consequently, the controlled drugs and substances bill is designed to achieve three prime objectives: to provide the government with the flexibility required to better control the import, production, export, distribution and use of controlled

substances; to provide the mechanisms needed to implement our obligations under international agreements-this relates to the restricted production or trade of internationally regulated substances destined for medical, scientific and/or industrial purposes-and to enhance the ability of the police and the courts to enforce our laws. The bill actually provides for the seizure and forfeiture of property used in offences involving controlled substances.

The existing Narcotic Control Act and the Food and Drugs Act do not deal effectively with emerging trends in drug abuse. These trends point to the increasing availability of new illicit or new designer drugs which, under current law, can escape effective control.

Under the aegis of the drug strategy, the government remains committed to a working partnership whose "raison d'être" is the reduction of drug abuse in Canada.

The controlled drugs and substances bill is an integral part of the strategy. It consolidates, modernizes, enhances and streamlines drug abuse provisions contained in the two current laws. Simply put, it builds on the government's current policy on drug abuse.

Those who profit from this are undeniably resourceful, determined and cunning. Their methods, their tactics and their products are forever undergoing change. We need flexible legislation which allows those on the front lines of enforcement to adapt quickly to these new developments as they occur.

For example, one of the more recent developments in the drug underworld is the production and illicit sale of so-called designer drugs and look alike drugs. Designer drugs are potent substances with slightly different chemical structures than substances presently controlled by the Food and Drugs Act and the Narcotic Control Act, substances like stimulants, tranquillizers and pain killers. These drugs affect abusers in similar ways and can lead to the same health and social problems produced by more conventional drugs.

Look alike drugs, on the other hand, are substances made to resemble illegal drugs. The manufacturers of these malicious offerings can mimic the more powerful drugs. Much harm can result from the abuse of these drugs and primary targets of these merchants of misery are often school-age children.

The manufacture and sale of designer drugs and look alike drugs can be a very profitable business. Sadly, it is a business with terrible consequences for hundreds of thousands of customers, many of them young people.

Under the current Food and Drugs Act and the Narcotic Control Act, drugs must first be listed on a schedule to the act. This regulates the conditions for the sale of that particular substance in Canada. Only once a given substance is listed can it become an offence to sell it. To correct this deficiency the controlled drugs and substances bill proposes interpretive clauses to include these substances.

Under this proposed act, new illicit drugs appearing on the street which fit this description will be covered automatically.

The bill also permits the control of precursors. Precursors are chemical substances used to produce controlled substances. New provisions contained in this bill will enable authorities to regulate the import and export of these substances.

Other sources of drugs sold on the street are substances intended for medical or scientific use. They may be stolen from a hospital, obtained through illegal prescriptions, secured by obtaining numerous prescriptions from different doctors for the same ailment, or via a forged prescription. People who deal in diverted pharmaceutical drugs are collecting very large profits.

The bill enhances present controls that deal with this issue. Under this bill the monitoring of the distribution of drugs will continue.

To ensure compliance with the law and prevent diversion, inspectors, in close co-operation with law enforcement authorities would continue to visit pharmacies, hospitals, licensed dealers, dispensing practitioners, researchers and laboratory analysts.

We know there exists a criminal element which is using more and more sophisticated networks to illegally produce, sell, export or import controlled substances in Canada.

These people buy property and consumer goods to further their criminal activities and bolster their personal wealth.

As I see it, such people should be prevented from retaining illegally obtained capital and goods.

The bill before us today, together with the proceeds of crime legislation, strikes at the heart of criminal enterprise.

Together, these enactments will enable the courts to strip criminals of profits and property illegally amassed through drug dealing.

Trends in illegal production, distribution and use of controlled substances change frequently and quickly.

This bill is designed to deal with current problems and to anticipate future needs. There is no doubt that there is a very real problem of drug abuse in Canada.

It causes death, injury and illness; leads to lost productivity in the workplace; is a burden on our health care system; and, increasingly, puts a strain on our courts and police forces.

In spite of these glaring facts, some people still doubt that drug abuse is a real concern for the majority of Canadians. They imagine that it is a local problem, affecting relatively few teenagers, primarily among low-income groups in large cities. It is true that it is not possible to measure accurately the full scope of drug abuse in Canada.

What the statistics fail to show are the personal and social costs-in a word the real costs. We can only guess what the real costs of abuse are: the loss of the potentiel achievements of our youth; the crippling of promising professional careers; the painful destruction of homes and families; the costly disruption of productive communities. These are the disturbing facts of life in virtually every corner of the nation.

Fifteen per cent of teenagers using cannabis. The total number of Canadians using cocaine-500,000 persons. These facts, as unsettling as they are, deserve our attention. They deserve our attention as legislators.

More important, they deserve our attention as parents, family, friends, colleagues and neighbours to those in need, for nobody is immune. I believe the bill proposes a significant strengthening of our current legislative framework.

At the present time three levels of government spend millions of dollars each year on drug law enforcement. In spite of these enormous expenditures, the fact is that police forces and the courts are hampered by outdated provisions in the laws they seek to uphold.

I welcome debate on the bill. While there are bound to be differences of opinion, I believe this bill merits, nonetheless, the support of members on all sides of the House. In bringing the bill forward I am asking on behalf of the crown that we as members of this place do our part to help equip the government with a new set of tools that will allow us to get on with the job at hand.

It may well be that striving for a drug free society is an unrealistic if laudable goal. Given what is at stake I submit that Canadians expect us to act.

[Blood Collection Standards, February 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, since I have become the Minister of Health I have instructed my officials to complete a total inspection of all 17 blood collection centres in Canada before the end of March 1994, that is before the end of this current fiscal year.

I have also instructed my officials to completely inspect all 17 facilities every year from now on. I believe the inspection will be completed as instructed by the end of March.

[Blood Collection Standards, February 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, let me assure the hon. member that our standards for blood collection are certainly not inferior to those of the U.S.

Our standards are different and in some instances they may even be superior because basically we are dealing with very different blood collection systems. In the U.S. it is a fee and for profit type of system whereas ours is a voluntary system.

I believe we will continue to make sure that our blood collection systems are extremely safe.

[Breast Implants, February 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we all have a right to our own opinions and I do not want to comment on what others might think. I can only assure you that this question is of utmost importance for us. Personally, the health of Canadian women is one of my priorities, it is an issue close to my heart. I will make sure my department does everything in its power so that Canadian women are treated fairly.

[Breast Implants, February 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we are following this very closely. We would like to stress the fact that Canadian women interested in this issue can receive all the information they need simply by contacting the Department of Health.

[Tobacco, February 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we tabled a four point plan to combat smuggling. Part of that was a very extensive program to counter smoking especially among young people or populations at risk.

One of the things that happened immediately on the day we announced this four point plan was the proclamation of the act which prohibits the sale of tobacco to young people. This week we have been circulating regulations in order that all vendors and all places where vending machines are in place are advised of the requirements of the act.

We will continue to work diligently at preparing the kind of legislation and regulations that will go a long way in preventing young people from taking up this habit which is terribly bad for their health.

[Tainted Blood, February 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is a tragedy our blood system was contaminated as it was in the early eighties. It is essential we understand why it happened and make sure it never happens again.

A budget was set by a previous government. It allows the beginning of the inquiry. I know that cabinet will give consideration to the request for further funding.

[Tainted Blood, February 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, I am quite concerned about this. We must reassure Canadians that their blood bank is safe. Yes, Justice Krever asked for a little more time and we will consider his request, but we are also anxious to see his report. So we will try to give him the answers he wants in order to get the results that Canadians need.

[Tainted Blood, February 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, Justice Krever was commissioned to review the safety of the Canadian blood system and to make recommendations on how it can be made even safer. I fully support the inquiry and will do everything to ensure its success.

In reply to the hon. member's question, I say again that the March 15 date is part of a provincial program to help the victims of tainted blood. Perhaps she could direct her questions to another level of government.