Using the substances that are available to people, which are the illicit toxic substances on the market today, is the reason, the one single reason, that people are dying or suffering permanent brain injury. It just follows that if a safe supply of pharmaceutical alternatives were available to people, and they were able to access those in a low-barrier way, they wouldn't die. That's the hope. We know that it won't completely end the problem, but if the federal government and the provinces could work together to remove the barriers to actually implementing a safe supply of opioids—in particular, a safe supply of fentanyl and heroin, which sounds crazy—and they were safely distributed and used, people would not die.
Really, our primary goal here is to keep people alive. Once people are stabilized on a safe supply, the evidence shows that their lives stabilize. They are more inclined to seek treatment. They can even get jobs and hold good jobs if they don't have that everyday search and everyday danger of accessing illicit drugs.