Health Committee on Oct. 9th, 2025

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

I'll move on, Ms. Chi.

Ms. Weber, Canadians want to know what drugs are being used in supervised consumption sites next to their children's schoolyards and playgrounds. Is crack cocaine allowed to be used in a federally approved supervised consumption site, yes or no?

[Kendal Weber]

The supervised consumption sites—

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Yes...?

[Kendal Weber]

—receive an exemption for the use of controlled substances.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Okay. Is that correct?

[Kendal Weber]

Cocaine is a controlled substance.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Is meth allowed to be used in those sites?

[Kendal Weber]

Meth is a controlled substance, and we give an exemption for the use so that a health practitioner is there—

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Meth is allowed to be used in these sites. Is that a yes?

[Kendal Weber]

Individuals come in and use meth, and they use other controlled substances. They're under the oversight of a health practitioner, so that if there is an overdose, they can prevent death.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

My next question is for the deputy minister.

The government is planning to allow 395,000 permanent residents and 673,000 non-permanent residents into Canada this year alone. Can our health care system handle the government's record levels of immigration, yes or no?

[Greg Orencsak]

We continue to work with provinces and territories in respect of their health systems and the provision of health services, and provinces are one of the stakeholders that are consulted on the government's immigration plans.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Has your department conducted an analysis of this?

[Greg Orencsak]

We would be relying on provinces and territories as part of the health system planning, and they are directly in conversation with our colleagues from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Do you collect that data, though, for the provinces? Immigration is a federal responsibility. Do you collect that data on the impacts on the health care system?

[Greg Orencsak]

That would be information the provinces would be supplying to us and would raise with us and our colleagues at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

If you could table that information, that would be very helpful to the committee.

I have to suspend for a second.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

We're back in session.

Mr. Powlowski, you have five minutes.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

We just heard a question about making needles available at safe injection sites as though this was somehow a bad idea. I think the evidence is overwhelming that clean needles lead to decreased mortality and morbidity, decreased transmission of things like HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Otherwise, these people are sharing needles and ending up with these diseases. The cost to the health care system, treating someone with HIV or hepatitis, is obviously enormous.

Providing clean needles would seem to be a very wise intervention. Perhaps you could comment on the wisdom of providing clean needles to users.

[Kendal Weber]

Thank you for the question.

Harm reduction supply tools are exactly that: designed to minimize the negative effects associated with substance use. They provide safer practices and reduce the risks of infectious diseases, overdoses and other harms. These can include syringes, and it can also include a number of harm reduction tools. It prevents infection and infectious disease, and it keeps the individuals who are using the substances alive.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Thank you.

There was also the suggestion made in a question that the health care system was being overburdened by the number of immigrants. As someone who has worked my whole life in the health care system, I would say that if it wasn't for immigrants, our health care system would be totally overrun. Many doctors, nurses and PSWs working in hospitals and in chronic care homes are immigrants to this country. They're really, I would suggest, the backbone of the health care system. Without them, the health care system couldn't continue to function.

Would Health Canada or the Public Health Agency of Canada have any figures as to the number of people, foreign graduates, for example, who are currently employed as PSWs, nurses or doctors in Canada?

[Greg Orencsak]

There are about 200,000 internationally educated health professions in Canada, and we recognize that immigration is a vital tool for addressing some of the health workforce shortages that exist in the country.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

I'd like to just personally thank all the immigrants who came here and who have helped our health care system, rather than trying to demonize them as being the problem.

I'd like to make clear the whole issue of decriminalization and where B.C. is with decriminalization. I asked this previously, but my understanding was that B.C. asked us to decriminalize, which means an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. However, later, B.C. said that, from my understanding and from your reply, they wanted the exemption to be removed for public places, meaning that you're still allowed to use drugs in private. There was decriminalization in private but no longer in public. I think that's the case.

Do I have that right?

[Greg Orencsak]

That's correct.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

I know Premier Eby came out with some remarks recently saying that decriminalization was a mistake.

Has he formally asked for that decriminalization or that exemption that still exists for private use to be removed as well, to your knowledge?