Mr. Chair, it is always an honour to rise in the House to debate and discuss issues that are important to Canadians.
As we gather here tonight, our country is in a national public health crisis. Over the past two and a half years, over 8,000 Canadians have lost their lives as a result of the opioid crisis. It is the most significant health issue in Canada's recent history.
This crisis is as complex as it is tragic. It is playing out across the country, in many different settings, yet the heartbreaking reality remains the same.
Last year in Vancouver, 370 people died of opioid-related overdoses. In Windsor, it recently claimed the lives of four unrelated people in a 24-hour period. On the Blood reserve in Alberta, paramedics responded to some 150 overdose calls in a single weekend in 2017.
From big cities to mid-size centres to rural areas, no corner of Canada has been spared this crisis. This epidemic takes the life of one Canadian every three hours. I believe it is worth repeating: One Canadian every three hours loses his or her life as a result of the opioid crisis.
While media coverage can sometimes make it seem like a distant problem, the opioid crisis certainly affects us all. Recently the stepson of B.C.'s Minister of Agriculture tragically died as a result of an overdose. While studies show that men in their thirties are most likely to die of an overdose, the impact is truly widespread. Each death devastates families, friends and communities as a whole.
Most tragic is the impact on our children. Overdose deaths have left a growing number of children without a mother or a father, or worse, as orphans. In the municipality of Brant, Ontario, one-quarter of the calls to child and family services involve parents using opioids.
The sad reality is that few Canadians are left untouched by this crisis, from coast to coast to coast.
The root causes of this crisis are many. We know that the over-prescribing of opioids has played a critical role and that toxic, illicit fentanyl continues to permeate our borders. For too long, leaders have been slow to react.
As Canada's health minister, there is no issue more important to me than this one. This was the first file I was briefed upon when I became Minister of Health, and I have to say, it is truly the file that keeps me up at night.
We are working to turn the tide on this national public health crisis. We certainly have to make sure that a response is compassionate, collaborative, and evidence-based. We are treating this as a health issue, and certainly not as a criminal one. We are taking action to save lives.
To support prevention, we are working to raise awareness to fight stigma, as we recognize that it is truly an obstacle. To increase access to treatment, we have made major investments with provinces and territories and have enacted new legislation to cut red tape. To better understand the crisis, we have improved data collection and surveillance.
We have also added money to better address this crisis. We committed $231 million in the 2018 budget. The provinces and territories will receive $150 million of this amount so that they can directly help the Canadians who are struggling with this issue.
We also took steps to make treatment easier to access by changing the rules that no longer made sense. For example, nurses could not transport certain controlled substances, but we changed that. They can now provide better care to Canadians living in rural and remote areas.
Properly addressing this crisis is impossible to do without including harm reduction. We support harm reduction, because we know that harm reduction saves lives. It means treating substance use and addiction not as a moral issue but as a medical one. It means asking ourselves not which solution fits our ideology but rather which one will help people.
Since coming into office, our government has placed harm reduction at the centre of our response when it comes to the opioid crisis. A core feature of that response is supervised consumption sites. For too long, these sites and harm reduction were used as a political wedge issue, yet we know that these sites save lives. That is why we have streamlined the application process for supervised consumption sites.
There are presently 28 sites operating across Canada. They have received over 125,000 visits in the past 18 months and have reversed over 1,100 overdoses, without a single fatality at any of these sites.
To further save lives, we have helped establish temporary prevention sites where the need is urgent. However, the federal government is merely one actor in a broader response. Progress is impossible without the collaboration of provincial and territorial governments, community partners and much more.
Most importantly, solving this crisis requires listening to those who know it best, those who understand its wrenching realities and those who live this crisis day in and day out. When I think of this, I think of individuals like Jeff Fleming.
Jeff was a service and support worker working the night shift in a downtown mission in Windsor, helping folks struggling with mental health and addiction issues. What set him apart from the other staff was that Jeff himself struggled with substance use disorder. His own experience with addiction only strengthened his resolve, because he wanted to help others. Jeff's colleagues said it made him better at his job. They noted how he treated everyone with respect and dignity, pushing to get people the help they needed, even in the face of insults or worse, yet last month, Jeff Fleming died of a suspected overdose.
Unfortunately, Jeff's story is not unique. If we take one thing from his story, it is that we must listen before it is too late. This is why we have made it a priority to engage and involve those affected by this crisis. In September, I hosted a two-day symposium that brought together close to 200 stakeholders and partners. The voices around the table, from those with lived experience to researchers to people suffering from chronic pain to front-line service providers, reinforced our belief that we make better policies when all voices are heard.
I would now like to take a few moments to talk about stereotypes. The preconceived idea that problematic substance use should be seen as a personal failure is hindering our efforts to help those who need it.
Having spent my life helping many men and women with substance abuse problems, I know that treating this situation as a health issue is the best way to help these individuals. It is also the best way to help their families and friends, who are also affected by stereotypes.
People with substance abuse problems often do not ask for help because they are afraid of facing these stereotypes. In British Columbia alone, 90% of those who died of an overdose died alone at home. That is why I encourage Canadians to be careful about the words they use when they talk about problematic substance use.
Changing preconceived ideas is not easy, but being more respectful, showing compassion and being careful about our choice of words are steps in the right direction. There is still no miracle cure for people with substance abuse problems, but I have to say that I am optimistic. I will continue to encourage all those who are working to deal with this crisis to develop bold new solutions.
We have started to do just that. It is now possible for people to have their drugs tested at consumption sites. We have also funded projects to develop more practical testing tools. We will continue to find bold solutions to help those who need it.
Today Canada faces our most significant public health crisis in recent history. It is complex and challenging from every angle, be it social, medical or legal. There are no easy solutions when it comes to the opioid crisis. We must remember that no one wakes up one morning and decides to have an overdose. This crisis is a human tragedy, and our response must be compassionate.
This evening I have highlighted only a few of the many actions our government has taken to save lives and address this tragic situation. I understand members' sense of urgency, and I share that sense of urgency as well. We can and we will do more. Know that our government is deeply distressed by this national public health crisis, and we will do everything in our power to stop it.