Mr. Speaker, the fact that we are here addressing this issue indicates the urgency with which we all see this issue. We certainly want to take action on it.
I trust that during the comments I made my colleagues picked up on the number of times that I referred to community based. What is key is that we look to aboriginal groups, working in cooperation and collaboration with government, to provide programs that are culturally relevant and that have been recommended by aboriginal groups for aboriginal groups and then we will have a much greater chance of success.
To say that we have not had success in dealing with these issues and putting it on this government is somewhat unreasonable. We have been working at this for the last two years but this problem has not been with us for only two years. With the examples I have given, we are certainly taking it seriously and, as I said, working in collaboration.
The other point I would like to address is on the question that was raised about the Insite model. A number of my colleagues in the NDP have referred to this and have implied that there is unanimous support for this model. , I do not take anything away from the democratic right of my colleagues in the NDP to recommend this as an effective model, that is what democracy is about, but it is very important that Canadians understand that there is not unanimous support for this type of treatment. In fact, I recall very vividly last year when a number of people from the Canadian Police Association visited my office and shared with me a number of concerns they had regarding the justice system in our country. One of the issues that is of concern to the Canadian Police Association is this very practice.
I want to read word for word from Canadian Police Association's journal so it is on the record. It states:
While Canada’s existing laws have been successful in limiting the harm caused by illicit drug use, there needs to be a sustained effort to educate Canadians, particularly vulnerable young people, about the adverse effects of illicit drug use. Young people are receiving conflicting and often confusing messages about the harms associated with marijuana use.
It goes on to state:
The CPA [Canadian Police Association] is concerned that the permissive approach to drug use has failed Canadians. At our Annual General Meeting in August 2006, CPA delegates voted unanimously to urge the government to cease all financing of the supervised injection site program and invest in a national drug strategy to combat drug addiction which, in addition to enforcement, includes education, prevention and treatment.
It further states:
In Vancouver, police officers and citizens are seeing a rise in drug related activities around the supervised injection sites, other than those that use the facility. These types of programs are delivering the wrong message to our children and youth on drug use. It trivializes the use of illicit drugs when the focus should be on treating the people who need help, not encouraging them to keep using drugs. The supervised injection site program has had no impact on reducing public disorder and has, in fact, created a safe haven for traffickers and fosters a sense of entitlement among drug users.
I wanted that on the record because there is not unanimous approval of that kind of treatment objective.