Thank you, Chair.
We are supporting clause 44. There's no amendment being proposed by us or by anybody, I think.
It's important for us, because if one looks at it, it's a whole series of additions to schedule I of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, moving a number of items from schedule III to schedule I—schedule I being the drugs treated most seriously under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and schedule III being the ones treated least seriously.
We are supporting this clause because among other things, it moves certain drugs to schedule I, amphetamines being one of them and the other being the date rape drugs, which are both particularly egregious in terms of their use in society. Amphetamines are drugs that are considerably seriously abused. They're prescription drugs, mostly, that find their way into use on the street and are particularly difficult to deal with. They're addictive. They lead to other aspects of crime and they should be treated the same as the many other drugs that need a greater level of control, and should be there.
The date rape drugs should not be treated flimsily. These are, as we all know, used in circumstances that involve the exploitation of young women almost entirely, I should think, and ought to be treated seriously, more seriously obviously than some other drugs.
We had a situation where amphetamines and the date rape drugs were treated less seriously than cannabis—marijuana—and we don't think that's appropriate.
I don't have much more to say about that, although my colleague Madame Boivin.... Are you leaving us?
