Thank you.
We take note of the warning of robust engagement from the Criminal Lawyers' Association.
In a 30-second preamble, I want to note my fascination with the current government's apparent obsession with sex and drugs. There's another bill in front of the House of Commons that talks about restricting work permits. It's an amendment to the Immigration Act. The government's own press releases explicitly refer to strippers and exotic dancers. I'm curious about that, and we'll see how that works out.
In this case, we're dealing with drugs. I have two focuses, and I'd like to direct a question to any of the lawyers at the table--I think they're almost all lawyers. The first one is this. Section 253.1, which has been referred to here, only deals with the issue of possession; it doesn't deal with impairment. It covers the same territory as the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
It occurred to me that about five years ago I was taking a flight, Mr. Chairman, and my spouse said to take a sleeping pill in case I wanted to sleep on the flight. I still have it. I never used it. I never took it out, and it's buried in the bottom of my wallet. I think if I tried to get it out, it would rip my wallet. It's still here, it's right there. I think it's a schedule 4 drug, and it just occurred to me that if we pass this section, I would be committing a criminal offence as soon as I got into my car. So is it ill-considered in this bill to include schedule 4 drugs in the legislation? Should we just walk from that, fix it? It's a mistake the government didn't notice; they didn't think about it.
Schedule 4 drugs include steroids, and I can't see the connection between being in possession of a steroid, or having a steroid in your body, and being impaired. There's no connection, from a public policy point of view at least.
So let me just put that to the first one who puts up their hand, Mr. Chairman. I would appreciate the analysis of Ms. Beauchesne, or from the Criminal Lawyers' Association.