Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It's an honour to be invited to appear before the committee.
I will be speaking from the heart much more than from the head.
I am a physician, and my first specialty is infectious diseases, which I've practised in university hospital centres. I also have extensive experience working under a community health model. This year marks my 46th caring for patients. I say “caring” because I don't necessarily treat them. I provide support to individuals who are part of a culture that carries a systemic stigma; they are oh so cruelly referred to as “addicts”.
Given my years of experience, I was deeply troubled and saddened when I read Bill C‑5, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, because it appears to put guns and drugs in the same category. Keep in mind that guns kill other people, whereas drugs kill the person who takes them. Guns are a safety issue, but drug use is not a justice issue; it is a health issue. That is very important.
This is something I am extremely concerned about. I completely agree that it is finally time to get rid of mandatory minimum sentences for individuals who, for lack of proper care, treat themselves using substances that are available around them. That is the first point I want to make.
My second point has to do with people who die as a result of substance abuse or overdose. A unique feature of people who try to treat themselves using substances is that they are totally unaware of what is in the substances being sold to them. For example, as a physician, I am required to inform users of what this residue contains. I have here a minuscule amount of a substance, smaller than a match head. It's heroin that was recently brought to me by users, and it contains 12 different substances. What kills people is not knowing what they are actually taking. That is why it is important not to prevent these substances from being handled. I am able to do it because it's part of my job and because it's necessary in order to care for people. That is a crucial issue.
The bill sets out exemptions for simple drug possession offences. The third point I want to make is how vital it is that an exemption be added so that people like my team members and I can have access to these substances. There needs to be an exemption for professional use. That way, when our outreach workers, who are professionals, cross the street with a bag containing a small amount of powder residue, they won't have to fear being arrested or thrown in jail.
That is my only recommendation. I have other ideas, of course, especially when it comes to the terminology, but those are my own personal observations. I have spent 46 years working in this field. I've worked with inmates, and I am very familiar with the issue. Residue analysis can save lives. We also do urine analysis to determine what people have taken. That is the basis for the care we provide.
We, ourselves, applied for an exemption exactly a year ago, and we are still waiting. We haven't gotten it.
Now I will turn the floor over to my colleague, Ms. de Kiewit.