I want to thank everyone here because this is an extremely important bill. I want to thank the witnesses for being here today because it's vital that we all work together to combat drug overdose and help save the lives of those who have lost their way or, as was mentioned, people who are just experimenting.
I want to thank Mr. Poirier for pointing out a loophole that maybe we have overlooked something in regard to the paramedics who, as you quite correctly pointed out, Mr. Poirier, you guys are the guys on the ground. We do have the parliamentary secretary here who is monitoring the committee, and we also have an emergency care physician which we are very fortunate to have.
If there's some type of a regulatory change that could be made that would make your job on the ground better and not give your members a situation where they could be confronting a risk for actually saving a life, that's something we could all support. Thank you for pointing that out.
I also want to thank you for pointing out that this bill is really important, but it's only part of a comprehensive and coordinated approach to work with our provinces and territories. I thank you for your positive suggestions to improve the bill.
We can't ignore that a major issue when it comes to overdose is that there's currently nothing in the pipe. You mentioned prevention. There doesn't appear to be a lot in the pipe to prevent overdose. We're facing this crisis. We're looking at Canadians, as was pointed out, being number one in the world with opioids. Something needs to be done.
We can enable addiction by providing, whether it's a syringe or heroin, whatever, but it does nothing to treat the problem.
I'd like to read a quote from the International Task Force on Strategic Drug Policy, which stated:
We oppose so-called `harm reduction´ strategies as endpoints that promote the false notion that there are safe or responsible ways to use drugs. That is, strategies in which the primary goal is to enable drug users to maintain addictive, destructive, and compulsive behaviour by misleading users about some drug risks while ignoring others.
We must not forget that addiction is a treatable and, in fact, a curable disease. Putting bills like this one forward is a positive step in the right direction. There's still little being done by governments to actually help treat drug addiction, and we need to address that.
With that statement, I do have some questions for you. Maybe I'll start with Mr. Poirier.
When an overdose happens, who would you say that your members see? Who is more likely to call for help? Is it the avid drug users, individuals battling addiction or familiar with overdosing, or is it just basically somebody who is around there? Who do you see as the major people who are actually calling you in?