As much as I, like everyone else, has been fixated on COVID for the last year or so, I actually want to ask the minister something that is related to COVID but not totally related to COVID, and that is the issue of money for substance abuse, drug addiction and the opioid crisis.
For those who don't know, Patty and I are the two members of Parliament for Thunder Bay, and I think we both share a background and a familiarity with the issue of substance abuse and the opioid crisis.
I, as a long-time doctor in the emergency room, saw a lot of cases of overdose over the years. They're a dime a dozen in the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, and Patty, I know, has worked with substance abuse programs and in setting those up in Thunder Bay.
We have a common interest in this. I think, moreover, that both of us found—at least I did, and I'm sure you have the same experience in going door to door—that some of the most passionate pleas were from people who asked us to do more in terms of addressing substance abuse and addictions, and to try to decrease the number of overdoses. I certainly met at least a few people who'd lost their children to overdoses, so this is a really important issue.
My understanding is that in the budget we've allocated more money to substance use and addiction programs, SUAP. Could you tell us a little more as to how much money it is, and where that money is going to be going?