Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Abbotsford for his support and his work combatting crime not only in his community but throughout Canada as well.
I have to concur that drugs are at the root of many of the social problems that seem to crop up in communities like mine. The city of Grande Prairie is known as a strong family community. It is one where people come to work and raise their families. They have believed for many years that this is a safe place to be.
I have consulted with my RCMP officers. Their concern about drugs coming into the community has become the number one issue in the relationship between the drugs coming in and the problems in the community spilling out.
One reason I brought the bill forward was I had met with a number of realtors in my community. These people go into homes throughout the city. What they saw was alarming. The banks were foreclosing on the houses of families that had become involved in addictive behaviours, including crystal meth. They shared with me the fact that we were not talking about the average Joe Blow. They were talking about families that traditionally had high paying jobs, beautiful homes and they were losing them as a result of the addictions in which members of those families had become involved.
Therefore, I feel the bill will go some distance in addressing this, but it is only part of a larger program. We all have to be part of combatting drugs and the harm they bring to our communities.