Thank you, Mr. Chair.
In testimony before the committee, one of our witnesses, Dr. Robert, told us about a problem situation for those working with people who have drug addictions. These workers often end up having small amounts of drugs in their possession, not for the purposes of using or trafficking them themselves, but simply because, in the course of their duties, they need to handle them.
Dr. Robert referred to individuals who want to stop using but are unable to do so while in the possession of, say, a bag of cocaine. They sometimes ask their social workers to take the drugs away to help them stop doing them. In these situations, the workers take the substances and hand them over to the relevant doctor, dispensary or their supervisor, so they may be disposed of according to the law.
In these cases, workers might be reluctant to get involved for fear of being accused of drug possession themselves. The Bloc Québécois motion seeks to avoid this situation with an “exception for service providers, whereby no social worker, medical professional or other service provider in the community who, in the course of their duties, possesses a substance included in Schedule I, II or III” commits an offence.
Of course, we’re not talking about workers having these drugs on them on weekends while, say, catching a show, but rather of their being in possession of drugs as part of their duties.
The service provider’s actions would not amount to an offence under subsection 4(1). I consider this to be a useful and critical provision for individuals working with those who have substance use problems.