Public Safety Committee on Oct. 2nd, 2018

Evidence of meeting #128 for Public Safety and National Security in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was training.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

M-124, Automated External Defibrillators

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Bruno Gendron Ottawa Police Service

Jocelyn Grondin Chief Executive Officer, Urgence Bois-Francs Inc.

Shawn McLaren Chief Learning Officer, National Office, St. John Ambulance Canada

Andrew Stanzel Council Commissioner, Federal District, St. John Ambulance Canada

Philip Girouard President, Urgence Bois-Francs Inc.

Scott Reid Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, CPC

Jamie Solesme Director, Policy and Programs, Contract and Aboriginal Policing, Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Nathalie Guilbault Director, Materiel and Moveable Assets Program, Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Bruce Christianson Director, Occupational Safety Policy and Program, Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Ruby Sahota Brampton North, Lib.

5:05 p.m.

Bruce Christianson Director, Occupational Safety Policy and Program, Royal Canadian Mounted Police

I can answer that question.

Right now our strategy for the opioid crisis is that we do have naloxone available for our members, and it has been used, as well, on members of the public.

Part of our training for our police officers in the use of naloxone is the use of their standard first aid CPR. In instances where an AED would be available, yes, it would help that much more. At this time, as you know, we don't have them in all of our vehicles so we can't rely on that. However, naloxone has been successful in reversing the effects of opioid overdose.

5:05 p.m.

Liberal

Sven Spengemann Liberal Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON

Okay.

Mr. Chair, those are my questions.

I think Ms. Damoff has an additional question she wants to ask.

5:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal John McKay

You have two minutes and 30 seconds.

5:05 p.m.

Liberal

Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON

A friend of mine went to a marathon down in the United States, and what they did there was that they trained people who were watching the race on how to use an AED. It was a five-minute training in a tent. Then they sent them out on the route and they had AEDs along the route.

Some of the questions indicate that the biggest fear is that people think they're going to kill someone with an AED or they're afraid to use them, when in fact you can't kill someone with an AED.

If you were to put resources into taking five minutes before a hockey game to say how to use an AED, do you not think that would...? Most people won't go, in those community centres, unfortunately, because they don't know how simple the AEDs are.

It would seem to me that a great way to do that is, where the public is gathering, like at a race or at a hockey game, to do that five-minute training to show people that this is all they have to do and they're not going to kill someone. The instructions are there. The people are already there.

Regarding Mr. Picard's question about posting videos, you won't go to a video unless there's a reason to watch it. I'm just wondering what your thoughts are on training people, not in a full-blown three-hour course, but just five or 10 minutes of instruction on AEDs.

5:05 p.m.

Supt Jamie Solesme

I'll go back to my comment in regard to it being everybody's responsibility to protect one another. I have not experienced the fear factor when going to events with the AED, and not because I only hang around police officers or medical personnel. I have just not experienced that. If there is that fear, I think that would take it out of it, but in a lot of these places, there's a lot of people there. Normally, like in a restaurant with the Heimlich manoeuvre, somebody in the crowd knows how to use it. I relate it to that.

Public education is valuable, by all means, yes, in those cases, especially going into a Sens game, and it comes up on the screen.

5:05 p.m.

Liberal

Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON

What's the average response time for RCMP vehicles out in rural areas? I'm just wondering if having an AED would actually help.

5:05 p.m.

Supt Jamie Solesme

It varies so much that I don't know if there's a standard set time.

5:05 p.m.

Liberal

Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON

Okay, that's fine.

5:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal John McKay

Thank you, Ms. Damoff.

Mr. Reid, you have five minutes, please.

5:05 p.m.

Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, CPC

Scott Reid

Thank you. I think the answer, Pam, is that there's a lot of luck involved.

If a 911 call comes in when a cruiser happens to be going by a house, then they can get there quickly and that vastly increases the chances of saving a life. If the cruiser is a couple of kilometres away and takes a couple of minutes, there's a certain amount of luck of the draw with that.