Mr. Speaker, this is something all members of the House would join in on, to think for a moment the deep debt of gratitude that we owe to the first responders of all types, the community activists of all types who are working on the front lines of this crisis. They are the ones who are actually attending to people who are clinically dead and not breathing, not only on the streets of Vancouver but in every major municipality and town across this country. It is the firefighters, police, nurses, community health workers. In many cases it is the drug users themselves who are joining together to try to save each other.
Once again, if I can make one plea to my colleagues in the House, it is to start regarding this problem as a health problem. Addiction is substance use disorder. It is a recognized illness in the DSM-5. It is not an issue of morality, not an issue of low character, not an issue of criminality. It is a complex biopsychosocial disease, no different from diabetes, cardiac problems, or anything else. These are people who are worthy of our support. It is a health crisis and those people who are dealing with it every day on the streets of our country who are responding as health providers need our full support, and more. They need better resources.
The federal government has contributed some money to this and it should be applauded for that, but it is not enough. Until every Canadian can access detox and treatment for substance use disorder on demand, publicly paid for, just as they would if they went to the hospital to have their finger stitched up, we cannot rest.