Mr. Speaker, the bulk of the bill and the program of the justice department is on the supply side with respect to drugs and it is on the supply of paper, frankly, that is meaningless. The government has done very little in discussing at any of the committees in the House issues of addiction and issues of public health.
From time immemorial people have had problems with substances. Rather than attack the addict, let us treat the addict. If there is a modality, in some of our larger cities for instances, there are situations where a safe injection site or at least a needle exchange is the best thing for society because it provides a safe, from a public health point of view, place for people to deal with their addiction and seek help if and when they want the help. That is something the government can do.
In my community 9,000 syringes, needles, were exchanged between the period of December and February by a mobile soup kitchen bus that went around and voluntarily exchanged. It is a public health issue, not funded by the federal government.
I have seen nothing from the federal government. It is a bit far away from justice. It probably delves into public safety, but that is how the government could help. We have heard nary a word from it on that.