Evidence of meeting #20 for Health in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was seconds.
A video is available from Parliament.
February 5th, 2026 / 5:20 p.m.
Conservative
Matt Strauss Conservative Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON
Which countries in general have the precursors and the finished products come from over the last 20 years?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Department of Health
I'd say that largely they're domestically produced.
Conservative
Matt Strauss Conservative Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON
Are they domestically produced from precursors also produced in Canada? Or do the precursors come from elsewhere?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Department of Health
They're largely domestically produced. There are some illicit precursors that would cross the border.
Conservative
Matt Strauss Conservative Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON
From where, if the illicit precursors are coming here?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Department of Health
We would see them coming from Asia. We would see them—
Conservative
Matt Strauss Conservative Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON
Are there any specific countries in Asia that they come from? Do they come from Japan or Taiwan?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Department of Health
We have seen precursors come from China.
Conservative
Matt Strauss Conservative Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON
Okay. Thank you.
What is your understanding of what the rate of overdose deaths in Canada has done over the last 10 years?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Department of Health
The volume...? The numbers...?
Conservative
Matt Strauss Conservative Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON
It's the rate, the per capita death rate from opioid toxicity.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Department of Health
I'll turn it over to my colleagues. The Public Health Agency of Canada tracks the surveillance of the drugs.
Conservative
President, Public Health Agency of Canada
The total deaths since January 2016 to June 2025 would be 53,300.
Conservative
Matt Strauss Conservative Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON
How has the yearly rate changed over that period?
President, Public Health Agency of Canada
Right now we're seeing, I would say, that since 2020—
Conservative
President, Public Health Agency of Canada
Over the past 10 years, it has been up and down. I would say over the past year, we're seeing a significant—
Conservative
Matt Strauss Conservative Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON
It's been markedly up and then slightly down, so it tripled, and now we're at about 2.5...from the rate back then.
Ms. Weber, my understanding is that you have carriage at Health Canada over illicit substances. Which countries in the developed world have the lowest rates of overdose death—let's say, in the OECD?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Department of Health
That's a good question. I don't have that. I'll have to come back with a written answer.
Conservative
Matt Strauss Conservative Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON
I can let you know. It's Turkey, Israel and Japan.
Do Turkey, Israel and Japan have supervised consumption sites?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Department of Health
That's a good question.
Conservative
Matt Strauss Conservative Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON
They do not.
When did supervised consumption sites start being introduced en masse in Canada?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Department of Health
We have seen the increase over the past 15 years—
Conservative