Mr. Speaker, I have a particular concern with the safety in our communities. I represent the community of Newmarket--Aurora. A lot of young families live there, and I have a real concern for the children in those families.
I was reading some of the quotes that we had from the discussion of this bill. One of them was from Superintendent Eric Slinn. He said:
When we are dealing with synthetic drugs, we are dealing with volatile chemicals and the danger is extreme. The same is true for marijuana grow operations. We are concerned about children inside these grow operations or clandestine labs. We need to emphasize the danger to public safety.
There is another quote from Peter Sadler, a sergeant with the Vancouver Police Department. He said, “I believe the mandatory prison sentences will give a tool to law enforcement that is currently lacking. It targets criminals who are operating the business of drug trafficking”.
There are many others here who talk about public safety. Could the member speak directly to the issue of children and how we are going to be protecting them?