Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Following our consultations with Mr. Fraser's office and the Department of Justice's recommendations, we came to the conclusion that, in the case of treatment, we shouldn't focus solely on treating drug addiction, but that we could go further. We should be talking about treating not only people who are already addicted to drugs, but also people who are struggling with problematic drug use. This broadens the scope of the bill. Many of my amendments actually stem from this desire to reach more people.
When we introduce a private member's bill, we try to put in as little as possible to make sure that it will pass. In this case, I was asked whether we could go further. Obviously, I said yes. I'm grateful to the people who made these recommendations.
I move that Bill C‑231, in clause 1, be amended by replacing lines 8 to 17 on page 1 with the following, under the heading that would now be “Problematic substance use treatment program”:
(1.1) person is alleged to have committed an offence under subsection 4(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act or subsection 8(1) of the Cannabis Act, the police officer shall consider whether it would be sufficient to refer the young person, with the young person's consent, to a problematic substance use treatment program.