Madam Speaker, right now the major drug problem in my region is OxyContin. OxyContin abuse has caused deaths across Ontario. Some 460 deaths have been directly ascribed, not counting many more that were probably indirectly related to OxyContin.
I am involved in the OxyContin task force in Timmins and Kirkland Lake. If one talks to police and community organizations, police are having to take on roles as social workers because there are no treatment programs in place. An enormous amount of police energy is spent dealing with many people who became addicted. Many people went in to get a doctor's prescription and were not told they were being given a form of morphine. A large number of addictions have occurred as a result of people who legitimately went to their doctor with a problem and ended up with a serious addiction.
I have spoken with those families. I know many Conservatives in the backbenches snicker, but I have talked to these people whose lives have been ruined. When they are stuck and end up on the street, they end up becoming a police problem. The police say to us that this is a medical problem and they need resources in dealing with drugs to help people. For them it is not an issue of crime, but of protecting these people.
It is not just in my region, but right across Ontario. Drugs like OxyContin are the main problem.
The government's response is that someone with a pot plant is going to get a minimum sentence. It seems to me that the government is completely missing the boat in terms of public safety and health, and providing resources to health workers and police who need them. I would like the hon. member to comment.