Mr. Speaker, I would like to commence by congratulating the hon. member for Langley—Abbotsford. This is an issue that he has long pursued and I know that his participation in the justice committee reiterated his interest and his passion for seeking solutions in this area.
The hon. member spoke of a place very near and dear to my heart, Stellarton, Nova Scotia. I know that the chief of police there, Ambrose Heighton, and others, including principal Jeff Green and community members, have tried to aggressively attack this issue of possession of very serious drugs in our community.
The young girl the hon. member mentioned in his remarks was in possession of tablets of dilaudid, I think, which is a highly addictive morphine-like drug that has become very prevalent and is very available in communities in Pictou county and the nearby areas.
My main concern, like his, is how we address this in a broad fashion. It will take the police, the education system and the health professionals to address it. However, perhaps I am looking for a more specific direction from him for this committee and for any parameters he might suggest that we put in place. He mentioned having a time limit of a year to report. Would this include calling witnesses? Would it include bringing forward some of these studies he has already alluded to as the basis for this committee?