Thank you, Madam Chair.
A notice of appeal was filed, as the member knows, with the B.C. Court of Appeals on June 30, 2008. This appeal is set to be heard early this year. As the matter is before the courts, my comments on it are limited. We have to respect the court process.
I want to be clear that we agree that injection drug users are in need of assistance. Our government has invested $100 million over five years to improve access to treatment for drug addiction. Of this, $10 million was set aside for Vancouver's downtown eastside. The funding has created 20 new transitional recovering beds to help individuals with drug addictions. I understand that facility was opened last week.
The focus of our national anti-drug strategy is on prevention and treatment of those with drug dependencies. We care about preventing people, especially our young people, from becoming addicted to drugs in the first place. That's the approach we're proud of taking to Canadians.
Thank you.