Madam Chair, I thank my hon. colleague for his work on health committee and for the efforts he is making to address this problem in a proactive way.
As I said earlier, decriminalization would not ensure a safe drug supply. It means that if one is found with drugs, the individual would not be charged criminally, but it would not ensure a safe drug supply. It would not solve the stigma problem that is a barrier to people seeking treatment. Decriminalization would not boost access to treatment centres. As I referenced earlier, Portugal's former head of drug policy has said that decriminalization is not a silver bullet to solve the crisis.
We need to start on the basics, so that is what we are doing. W are responding by restoring harm reduction. We have opened over two dozen supervised consumption sites. We have invested over $200 million in treatment centres. We are fast-tracking regulatory action to cut red tape.
We are all on the same page on this one. We need to ensure that Canadians, when they are ready to seek treatment, have access to treatment.