Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the work of our Conservative government in combating the use of illegal drugs within our federal prisons.
There is a federal prison just miles from our family farm, where I grew up, and I am all too aware that drugs are prevalent in our prisons and are a source of income and control for gangs.
These are serious and longstanding problems that have been overlooked for decades and are now being addressed by our Conservative government through a bold and innovative initiative.
We have committed significant and meaningful funding toward an anti-drug strategy, a strategy which will, over the course of the next five years, go a long way toward the detection and elimination of drugs in our federal prisons.
In addition to these initiatives, Correctional Service Canada has also introduced a zero tolerance drug policy to further respond to this problem and to better protect correctional staff. Eliminating drugs in prisons is an important step toward the rehabilitation of offenders and the creation of a safer environment inside our federal prisons. It is a step, I am proud to say, that has been taken by this Conservative government.