Thank you very much to all of the officials for being here today.
My question is about the medicinal marijuana directorate, the system that Health Canada has responsibility for. In my riding, which includes the city of Chilliwack, it's a very big issue. Medical marijuana is being grown in residential settings. The local government is very concerned that they aren't allowed to really know where things are and about the threat to public safety when a medical marijuana grow op is found.
We're now finding that organized crime is becoming a problem. They're latching onto those folks who have a licence. There are concerns about neighbours being misidentified as having a grow op.
I was encouraged when I heard about the minister's initiative to make it easier for patients to go straight to a doctor and get prescribed medicinal marijuana, but I was also encouraged to hear that we were looking to move medicinal marijuana grow operations out of residential settings altogether.
I'm hoping you can provide the committee with an update on that program and perhaps give us some timelines—I know the consultation period has ended—so that communities like Chilliwack and others can know what the future holds for that program.