Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for all her efforts on health reform in Canada. I much appreciate her comments.
Why this bill was sent to the public safety committee rather than the health committee is simple. It is because the government does not see this as a health issue. It sees it as a law enforcement issue. It wants to spend more money to maybe put more addicts in jail, and maybe that will make the world a better place. That is contrary to the evidence of Dr. Julio Montaner, a world expert on AIDS, who says that the government “just doesn't get it” and has put up roadblocks with this stacked deck of criteria.
That is why the government sent it to the public safety committee rather than the health committee, because it does not even accept that we have a public health crisis in our cities.