House of Commons Hansard #140 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was c-37.

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The House resumed from February 9 consideration of the motion.

Opposition Motion—Commitments Regarding Electoral ReformBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

It being 3:03 p.m., pursuant to order made on Thursday, February 9, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the opposition motion concerning the business of supply.

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the motion, which was negatived on the following division:)

Vote #194

Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I declare the motion defeated.

The House resumed from February 10 consideration of the motion that Bill C-31, An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Ukraine, be read the third time and passed.

Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation ActGovernment Orders

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Pursuant to order made on Friday, February 10 the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at the third reading stage of Bill C-31.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #195

Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation ActGovernment Orders

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I declare the motion carried.

(Bill read the third time and passed)

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation ActGovernment Orders

3:20 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Pursuant to order made Monday, February 13, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at the third reading stage of Bill C-30.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #196

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation ActGovernment Orders

3:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I declare the motion carried.

(Bill read the third time and passed)

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation ActGovernment Orders

3:25 p.m.

Conservative

Rona Ambrose Conservative Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB

Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. Normally we do not recognize the absence of a member, but I know that the Prime Minister and all members of the House would join me in recognizing the incredible hard work of the member for Abbotsford on the Canada-EU free trade agreement.

The House resumed consideration of Bill C-37, an act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related amendments to other Acts, as reported (with amendments) from the committee.

Controlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

3:30 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

I wish to inform the House that, because of the recorded divisions, government orders will be extended by 25 minutes.

Controlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

3:30 p.m.

Gatineau Québec

Liberal

Steven MacKinnon LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to rise in the House to show my support for Bill C-37.

This bill merits the support of all members of the House. I am particularly pleased that our friends in the New Democratic Party are in support of what is, essentially, a public health measure.

There have been debates in this place and elsewhere across the country for over a decade and we saw some of the divisive community fights that ensued in Vancouver and other locales across the country on the issue of substance abuse, community health, and the measures for those who suffer from drug addiction. I applaud my colleagues in the House who support the measures that have now become more and more urgent, so that we may address the public health issues that are raised by the scourge of substance abuse in Canada.

Whether we are talking about the measures taken in Vancouver or the ones taken in Montreal lately, measures that I know are being debated in communities across this country, the process outlined in the bill will be simplified, will take root in communities and among workers at the street level or across the spectrum of public health services who look after those who have substance abuse issues, and those who look to our communities and organizations to provide support.

It is a great pleasure for me to rise to speak on this bill and the principles of it. It has been exhaustively debated and my colleagues have weighed in and supported it very strongly. I thank the members of the party opposite and the New Democratic Party. I urge all members of the House to rise in support of this important legislation.

Controlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

3:35 p.m.

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Mr. Speaker, what the member has missed in the context of this debate is that there was an opportunity to expedite certain portions of this legislation, which I think we all agreed on, while, at the same time, giving proper debate to the one provision that is more controversial because it takes away effective opportunities for consultation from communities.

Conservatives proposed to expedite some of the necessary measures, but, instead, the government refused and has now brought forward closure when many members who were interested in speaking to this bill have not had an opportunity. I wonder if he would tell us why the government was not prepared to work in a non-partisan fashion, to move forward more quickly many of the essential elements of the bill, while still allowing proper debate on the government's proposal to reduce community consultation.

Why did Liberals have to make it a partisan issue, use closure, and slow down some of the vital portions of the bill? Why are they doing it this way and why did they not work with the rest of the parties in the House?

Controlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

3:35 p.m.

Liberal

Steven MacKinnon Liberal Gatineau, QC

Mr. Speaker, my question back to the member would be this. Over the course of the 10 years when people in Vancouver were trying to establish Insite, a groundbreaking service, where was the party opposite in listening to community voices, public health advocates, and, yes, evidence-based scientists? Where was that party in allowing the kind of debate required to establish that vital community service in Vancouver and other communities?

We were having a debate in the chamber, as it should be, and that party wanted to shut down the debate.

Controlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

3:35 p.m.

Louis-Hébert Québec

Liberal

Joël Lightbound LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health

Mr. Speaker, on such an important issue as safe consumption sites, which could, indeed, save lives, according to the vast majority of health experts, facts and evidence, and what we have seen in Vancouver, it has to proceed quickly.

It became a partisan issue. The previous Conservative government responded to the Supreme Court judgment that set out five clear criteria on which to approve sites in communities where they are needed and, instead, provided 26 onerous, lengthy, complicated criteria that made it hard for communities to have the needed safe consumption sites, which prevent sickness and save lives. At this point, we should move forward with Bill C-37.

I would ask the member, going back to what the Supreme Court clearly stated, if it would give more flexibility to provide safe consumption sites, to give exemptions where they are needed, where they save lives, and where communities demand it, like Montreal, which has just received approval after such a lengthy period. It had been asking for these sites for close to two years. Does he feel this would help protect Canadians, as Mayor Coderre said, even if it is sometimes from themselves?

Controlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

3:35 p.m.

Liberal

Steven MacKinnon Liberal Gatineau, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague, who has shown incredible leadership. I am delighted to see that he is there to support the Minister of Health on this issue.

As has been the case for a good number of issues, our approach has been based on science, evidence and, above all, jurisprudence. The bill as it stands is consistent with all these principles and is in rather stark contrast to the previous government's approach, which opposed community activists and was contrary to the jurisprudence and, yes, to findings about public health.

Controlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

3:35 p.m.

NDP

Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC

Mr. Speaker, medical experts have been clear that there is an alarming lack of access to publicly funded detox and treatment centres in Canada. Certainly as politicians we know this. The health committee's recent report on the opioid crisis made three specific recommendations calling for significant new federal funding for public community-based detox and addictions treatment. Will budget 2017 contain significant new funding for addictions treatment?

Controlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

3:35 p.m.

Liberal

Steven MacKinnon Liberal Gatineau, QC

Mr. Speaker, I concur with my hon. colleague that we must do more on this file.

This bill is a giant step forward. It ensures we listen to the people on the ground and helps provide greater access to infrastructure and community facilities.

I believe this is a big step forward, but we must continue to work with the provinces, territories, and community stakeholders in order to solve what we both recognize is a major problem.

Controlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

Karen Vecchio Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to stand today and speak to Bill C-37, an act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related amendments to other acts.

I have listened to many of the speakers in the last few debates on this, and everyone is pointing fingers, saying that the other government did not do this and we are doing this, but I am coming here as a mom. I am the official critic for families, children, and social development, and I am thinking about what we can do that is best for our families and best for our communities.

Many people are giving information regarding safe injection sites and why they work, but I am looking at the communities. One of the most important things to me is having a safe community and having a good place to raise my children and all Canadian children. When we are talking about this, we have to go back to why we are putting in these laws. It is about the safety of Canadians, whether it is the safety of those people who are unfortunately addicted or the safety of the families that are living beside injection sites or living in areas where there is a huge drug issue.

When this started being discussed in December, I sent an op-ed to The London Free Press, which is one of our local newspapers. Immediately following that, I set up an appointment with Dr. Christopher Mackie, who is the medical officer of health and the CEO of the mental health unit. Many people thought we would be on different sides. He comes at it in a more liberated way, and I come at it in a more conservative way, basically because of being a mom. At the end of the day, we had basically no things that were not in common. Our concerns were the same. It was all about making sure that when our children go to school, they are safe. It was about making sure that when people are dealing drugs, they are not interfering in our communities. We recognize that it happens, and it is extremely unfortunate that it happens.

What is happening is that we are moving forward on things that we are really not comfortable with. As a mom, when l spoke to Dr. Mackie, I told him about my discussions with my own children regarding marijuana and about why it is so important for families to sit down and have these discussions. Things like marijuana, heroin, opioids, and all of these things are coming into our children's paths much more frequently, and they are something we do not understand.

I am a child of the eighties, and my teenage years were great in the eighties. We heard of cocaine and marijuana, but we did not see it in our small communities.

Everyone is looking at the discussions we are having, but we have to look at them through a family filter. We talk about gender-based analysis. I want to ask every member of Parliament to look at this through the filter of a parent. That is what I am asking.

In the city of London, when they were putting in a methadone clinic, there were discussions about where it would go. There were so many people concerned, because it was going directly across the street from a high school on Dundas Street in St. Thomas. To this day, five years later, it is still a huge concern, because in that pocket of the community, there has been a lot of turbulence, whether it is crime, increased drug use, or things of that sort. What is it teaching our children as they exit from the high school and there is a methadone clinic across the road? What signals are we sending to our children? Is it saying no to drugs or that we are there to assist them?

We are failing our children. We are failing the next generation by not teaching them right from wrong and not teaching them that the use of drugs and hard drugs is difficult. They are going to have addiction issues. They are going to have problems with brain development.

We are not starting at step one anymore. We are going to step 10 and saying, as one of the members said, let us legalize all drugs. I do not know if he was serious, because he was looking at drugs as not being a crime. Let us be serious. It may not be a crime to use drugs, but what does it lead to?

I have a lot of personal experience in my community with my own family's drug use. It is not me personally, but I have been touched intimately because of drugs. I have known people who have passed away. A person I grew up playing baseball with died right before Christmas, in our own community, from taking carfentanil. I knew this gentleman, Jeff. He died at the age of 46. He was a father with children. He had a son he loved like members would not believe and tons of friends. The problem was that he got mixed up with drugs when he was very young, and that is the life that led him down the path to his death.

I think what is happening is that we are blurring what is right and wrong, and we are saying that this is how we are going to help. Why do we not start at the front end, which is education and letting people know how to speak to their children and letting people know that the use of heroin is not right? We give so many reasons for saying that we need to have this. Why do we not start at square one and make it right in the first place?

I believe that we have to have places where we can help people rehabilitate. We know that there is a drug crisis, and we need to do better. Where do we start?

I like 90% of this bill. I think it is really important that when packages come into Canada, they are tested, that we do not allow counterfeit companies that come in to manufacture pills, and that we do not allow pill presses or anything like that. I think it is really important to have legislation against that, because it is helping in the war against drugs, and we know that this is happening.

However, when we start talking about the one piece, the safe injection sites and the fact that there would not be consultations in our communities, that is where I have to say stop. As I said, back in the city of London, where, across from H.B. Beal, they have a methadone clinic, there were many parents who came forward to the Thames Valley District School Board to state their opinions.

In a letter I read last year regarding safe injection sites, a woman spoke about her daughter who, at the age of 13, became addicted to cocaine. The daughter, who went into one of these clinics, at the time said that the ability to get drugs was even easier once these clinics were available to her.

We have to understand that it is not a fix. It is a band-aid approach unless we go into it full scale to help Canadians, whether it is Canadian families or Canadian youth at risk. We need to make sure that we are doing better, and we are not doing that. That is what makes me so concerned.

We are talking about fentanyl. We know that in Vancouver, more than 950 people have died because of it. In my own community, we had six overdoses in one weekend right before Christmas, and unfortunately, one person died.

I was speaking to both the police chief of the city of St. Thomas, Darryl Pinnell, who will be retiring shortly, and the police chief of the city of London, John Pare. I wanted to discuss with them some of their concerns in their cities. To be honest, I thought when I went into this conversation with the police chiefs, we would be talking about prostitution, because we know that there has been some sex trafficking going on in our communities. I thought we would be talking about marijuana and the concern about people driving under the influence of marijuana, but the big issue for the two police chiefs was fentanyl. In the city of London, I know that there have been three different seizures of fentanyl that has come into our communities. I applaud them for doing their great work. However, we have to do more.

We sit here and become so open and so allowing of things, whether we are talking about sexual expression or drug use. We have lost our innocence. As a parent, I can tell members that each and every time I have a conversation with my children, it is about talking about right and wrong. However, when we are watching television, when we are watching the news, when we are seeing things on the Internet, when we are having these discussions, do we not think we are also saying, “Drug use, well, you know, it happens”? It happens, but it has to stop happening. Our job is to change that.

Maybe I am coming out here as a Pollyanna. A gentleman, many years ago, said that I was his Pollyanna. I like to see the positive side. When I look at this, we are starting the wrong way. We should be educating people. We should be having a program and educating people about the use of drugs. Instead, we are allowing it. We are even talking about legalizing all drugs. What the heck?

What really concerns me is that we are going in the wrong direction. I am worried about what we are doing to the future of Canadians. What are we saying? What is right and wrong? Those are some of my concerns.

We can do better. I think we are all just kind of saying that opening these clinics will be fine. It is a band-aid approach. Unless we have wraparound services to allow people to rehabilitate and get off drugs, it is not going to help anybody. It is a short-term cure. Although I understand the need, it is just that, a short-term cure. When the municipalities and the communities are not involved in the decision on where these sites are going to go, we are in trouble.

I thank all members for their time and for listening to Karen, the mom, today. That is what I believe, and I wanted to share it with members today.

Controlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

3:50 p.m.

Louis-Hébert Québec

Liberal

Joël Lightbound LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Conservative Party member for her speech.

I often hear Conservatives on the other side of the House talking as though the communities were never consulted about the bill that we introduced.

I would simply like to remind them that, under paragraph 42(2)(e), some of the information that will be requested by the Minister of Health will be expressions of community support or opposition. That is one of the criteria that must be considered, as set out in the Supreme Court ruling.

With regard to what the member was saying about the importance of education, it is true that people need to stay far away from drugs. I think that everyone agrees on that. At the same time, we cannot stick our heads in the sand and pretend that there are no Canadians struggling with this problem, which is causing too many deaths.

In British Columbia alone, 1,000 people died of drug-related overdoses in 2016. There has also been a major increase in the number of overdose deaths in Alberta. This is a problem in cities all across Canada.

I believe we are taking a fact-based approach. We are trying to reduce the harm that this can cause while still cracking down on the problem. We are doing that by allowing authorities to open packages weighing less than 30 grams, which could contain as many as 15,000 fatal doses, while adopting an approach that seeks to reduce the devastation caused by drugs.

My question is simple. Can the member see the balance that exists in Bill C-37, and can she comment on that?

Controlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

Karen Vecchio Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments by the member, but I do not believe that the balance is there that once was.

I was in Gastown, and I saw three people smoking crack. I knew I was not in Sparta anymore. It was that simple. The girl from southwestern Ontario had a total eye-opener. We have to recognize this.

I believe that communities need to be more involved, and some of the members of the police force I have worked with are concerned that they are not. As I have indicated, we have seen some poor decisions made in the past that have resulted in teenagers having these things available to them, with schools across the street from methadone clinics and things of that sort.