Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It's an honour to present a petition. It was certified by the clerk. Petition number 431-00198 relates to the ongoing opioid crisis. The petitioners call on the House to declare this a public health emergency and to take all the immediate steps that are necessary to address this crisis.
I note that the number of deaths from the opioid crisis in Canada far exceeds the number of deaths from COVID-19. The petitioners call on the government to declare this a public health emergency; to move expeditiously to assist moving towards protecting the people who are victims; to deal with this issue as a public health crisis, not as a criminal matter; and to work towards the decriminalization of drugs so that we can save lives in Canada that are at risk due to the opioid crisis.