Mr. Speaker, November 15 to 22 is Drug and National Addictions Awareness week. Ironically, it is also the week that the Minister of Health brings into this place the bill allowing tobacco manufacturers to lure our young Canadian people into a lifestyle of addiction, specifically tobacco usage.
The tragic use of tobacco and illicit drugs by young Canadians is clearly on the rise. For example, in Nova Scotia the number of students using illicit substances has doubled in the past seven years. In my home province of New Brunswick a survey conducted last spring of 3,925 public school students reported that 31% had used cannabis and 56% had used alcohol. What is even more frightening is that most of the students when asked said they did not need help.
The Government of Canada must take a leadership role in combating youth addiction. We can begin today in this—