First, I want to thank all of the witnesses for their important testimony and the important work that they all do.
We heard from the chief coroner of British Columbia. Dr. Bonnie Henry, you're also the chief medical officer of British Columbia.
The B.C. chiefs of police and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the First Nations Health Authority in British Columbia, the B.C. First Nations Justice Council, as well as the Health Canada expert task force are all saying that this is a complex issue that requires a comprehensive response. Every single organization and individual I listed were clear that we need to replace the toxic street supply with a safer supply of substances, stop criminalizing people who use substances and create a system with treatment on demand, investing heavily in recovery, prevention and education.
Dr. Henry, we just had the decriminalization model in British Columbia come into effect in January 2023. In the month prior, the death rate per 100,000 per day was 7.5. In the last two months, the death rate dropped to 6.1 and 6.2.
Do you believe that the decriminalization trial in British Columbia is working and has been working?