Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to take part in your study. It's an issue that deserves your full attention, as well as ours.
I am here today as chairman of the board of the Association des intervenants en dépendance du Québec, or AIDQ. We have expertise in addiction, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation in the community and harm reduction, of course. For a number of years, we have also been keeping a close eye on the changing drug policy landscape.
As a lawyer, I have been practising health law for more than 40 years. In 1989, I co-founded CACTUS Montréal, North America's first needle exchange program. I also teach a course for addictions counsellors on drug addiction, public policy and intervention, in the faculty of medicine and health sciences at Université de Sherbrooke.
My remarks today are not without bias, but that bias is in favour of preserving and improving drug policies that revolve around public health and respect for human rights, especially drug users' right to dignity, and the right to health services. I believe in the importance of evidence because it leads to more objective attitudes and discussions. Evidence also helps us consider some of the measures that are taken through a critical lens.
Now I will turn to the measures that have been taken since 2015‑16. I want to say one thing first: the current crisis existed well before 2015. It is no secret that drug policy is a highly political issue. For the last 50 years, governments have chosen the approach of cracking down on drug use and criminalizing it. There is no doubt that repressive policies introduced in Canada between 2005 and 2015 paved the way for the crisis we face today. Of course, no approach is perfect. However, it takes hard work to undo decades of stigmatization, disregard for evidence and discrimination. It takes time.
The AIDQ's assessment of all the measures taken to date is very positive. I will list a few. During the review of the Canadian drugs and substances strategy, the government reintroduced harm reduction, which had unfortunately been set aside in 2005‑06—with disastrous results. A review of the strategy's four pillars led to a modern approach, one much more suited to the current landscape. Under the strategy, access to naloxone was expanded. Well done. It was the right thing to do. The government passed the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act, which provides legal protection from criminal charges to individuals who seek emergency help in an overdose situation. There may be a slight problem, though: Do police services across the country all have a clear understanding of how the good Samaritan legislation is to be applied?
Reviewing the criteria to extend exemptions to supervised consumption sites, overdose prevention sites, was the right thing to do. Today, we have more than 40 such sites. As mentioned earlier, and as you are all very aware, these services save lives. I encourage all of you to tour a supervised consumption site in your riding or elsewhere. Ottawa has a number of sites. I encourage you to visit one so you can see it in action.
With the passage of Bill C-5, the government established diversion measures. What a great step. However, British Columbia's move to decriminalize illicit drugs in January 2023 has created confusion around which system applies and Canada's bipolar approach, if you will. Let's at least make sure that both systems are successful, the pilot in British Columbia and the diversion measures regime across the country.
I want to make an important point about legislative measures going forward. On one hand, I am asking you to provide greater access to safe supply and drug-checking services. On the other, I urge you not to succumb to the criticism that has been voiced in recent years, especially recently, with respect to British Columbia's decriminalization pilot. It's only a year old.
Let's take the time necessary to see through these essential initiatives. Above all, let's tackle criminal groups and their hold over the illegal market. There you have the recipe. What's more, I encourage you to give thoughtful consideration to the issue of legalization.
Thank you.