Absolutely. We need every tool and every strategy that is instrumental for ensuring life. Not one individual can live on this earth all by themselves. We live in relationship to others. We live in relationship to the land and the environment. We have to consider those elements and those four pillars.
We have a substance use strategy in Canada that includes harm reduction. Now we have to figure out what that means. We have to ensure harm reduction, but not only for individuals. We have to ensure we make decisions, policies, resources and programs that reduce harms to families and communities. That does not mean erasing the right to medicine, the right to mental wellness, the right to live and the right to the sacred breath of life. We have to provide and look at life from a holistic perspective. We can't afford to say, “You as a population don't have the right to life” or “You as a population, because you use drugs, don't have the right to health.”
The outcome of the UN declaration on the world drug problem—which Canada supported—was that, instead of a war on people, we had to ensure the right to prevention and treatment. Unfortunately, we couldn't get harm reduction in the declaration at that point. However, this year, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs had a vote that passed, putting harm reduction in international drug treaties. Now it matches what Canada has said, and we have to invest.