Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, members of the committee, for having me here today.
My name is Gerard Peets, and I'm the deputy commissioner for Canada's fight against fentanyl. I lead a team at the Privy Council Office in direct support of the fentanyl czar, or the commissioner for Canada's fight against fentanyl, Kevin Brosseau. The office was created in February 2025 to lead Canada's response to the scourge of fentanyl, which claims over 20 lives each and every day. Established within the PCO, the core function of the fentanyl czar is to align efforts in support of this urgent, complex and multi-faceted fight.
I'd like to start with some information about fentanyl and the illegal fentanyl trade.
Fentanyl is a deadlier drug than any that came before it. As a synthetic opioid, it can be made anywhere, and made cheaply. Because it is so potent—between 20 and 40 times as potent as heroin—it can be sold in small quantities and is therefore easy to ship. Its potency also means that it is highly addictive and difficult to stop using. And of course, its potency means that even small quantities can be deadly.
For the most part, fentanyl consumed in Canada is produced from precursor chemicals that are imported into the country, with a significant source being China. Many of these chemicals have legitimate uses, but they are being diverted to produce fentanyl.
It's important to note that while Canada and the U.S. are each experiencing their own domestic fentanyl crisis, Canada is not the source of the U.S. fentanyl crisis. Based on volumes of seized fentanyl reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection since 2022, about one-tenth of 1% of fentanyl seized is attributable to the U.S.'s northern border region. Nevertheless, both Canada and the U.S. are confronting the fentanyl crisis in our respective countries, and it is vitally important that we work together in doing so.
A key interlocutor for the fentanyl czar and our office is the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy. The ONDCP coordinates across 19 federal agencies to provide a whole-of-government approach to addressing addiction in the U.S. The fentanyl czar engages regularly with ONDCP and many other counterparts in the U.S., Mexico and other countries, both to advocate for Canada and to better understand their priorities and identify opportunities for collaboration. In those exchanges, we can report that our U.S. counterparts appreciate and value the actions that Canada has taken, and continues to take, to fight the scourge of fentanyl.
Our partners here today, the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency, have a long and established track record of exemplary collaboration with U.S. officials.
New measures—whether they be investments in our border or domestic law enforcement, or legislative, like Bill C‑2—are geared toward serving Canadians, but they are also welcomed and watched closely by our U.S. counterparts.
Here in Canada, our work at the office of the fentanyl czar includes close collaboration with Health Canada to respond to the demand for illegal opioids, although no representatives from the department are here today.
Health Canada leads on the Controlled Drugs and Substances Strategy, which is the federal framework that guides Canada's approach to substance use through four integrated pillars: prevention, treatment, harm reduction and enforcement.
While broader than fentanyl, the CDSS is a foundation of federal efforts to address the demand side of the fentanyl crisis—how to help those facing addiction. The fentanyl czar and his team work with Health Canada in pursuit of this goal, in partnership with many others. This notably includes the provinces and territories, which bear primary responsibility for health care, social services and policing.
We also talk to frontline and community workers, including people who are delivering valuable services to provide treatment and the hope of recovery to those facing addiction. We work with domestic law enforcement in their tireless effort to keep people safe from the effects of the fentanyl crisis within communities. More information on what we've heard from these and other groups is available in the interim report of Canada's fentanyl czar, which is available on the Privy Council Office website.
In closing, it is a privilege to be here today. I look forward to supporting you in your study in any way I can.
Thank you.