Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my hon. colleague a question regarding her comments on our charter but before I do, I want to thank the hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles. I serve with him on the justice committee and he has been leading the charge on this matter and is doing a great job. I want to personally give him the kudos that he deserves.
Regarding the comments that we have just heard on our charter and that the issues are not simplistic, I acknowledge that there are a number of issues that we need to consider when we deal with organized crime, marijuana grow ops, and so on. When we do the simple math and realize that about $1.2 million per year is what an average grow op produces, that is a lot of money. It is not 85% but the vast majority of grow ops are run by organized crime. Marijuana is still an illegal substance in Canada, so it is being distributed through organized crime.
It is estimated there are 50,000 grow ops in Canada, and when we do the math it means that $60 billion annually is produced by illegal marijuana grow ops. What is that being used for? Some 80% of it is going across the border to be traded for illegal dangerous weapons, cash and cocaine which come back into our country. We all recognize it is a huge problem.
We all honour the charter as a wonderful and valuable part of Canada to guarantee that our rights are protected. We are dealing with a very dangerous element that has come into our country and is taking away our rights. It is sucking $60 billion out of Canada every year. It funds organized crime and it is causing huge impacts on our health care. We need more police resources. We need an educational program, a national drug strategy to fight this.
Is the member suggesting that the charter be used to protect this very dangerous element in our society? Is she suggesting that the charter be used to protect criminal activity?