Thank you very much, Mr. Chairperson.
Thank you to the ministers for being here today, and the officials.
I'd like to begin by just noting that it has been very obvious, over the last year and a half that the bill has been introduced, that there is very deep concern that the bill is flawed. First of all, the fact that it's coming to the public safety committee, not health, is a very clear signal about the government's biases on this issue. I notice that the Toronto Region Board of Trade expressed concerns that no other health service has to go through such an extensive process to approve a service.
We also know, of course, that the government opposed InSite, the safe injection site in the downtown eastside, all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. And I presume the only reason we're even dealing with legislation is that the Supreme Court of Canada compelled the government to bring forward a legislative initiative. But what I find very interesting is that there is nothing in this bill that actually compels the Minister of Health to consider an application or to approve an application. Even when an applicant has met all the criteria, literally a to z, all of the principles, there is nothing in here that compels the minister to approve an application.
My questions are really more focused on the political biases that are at work here in this bill, and we certainly heard this from Minister Blaney just this afternoon. I'd like to know what you actually know about safe consumption sites, and specifically, have either of you visited InSite in the downtown eastside?
Minister Blaney, you said you were on the street with cops. That's good. You certainly got a perspective, but have you actually visited InSite and spoken with the very professional people who run that service and interact with people?
Could either minister tell us that?