Mr. Speaker, the opioid crisis in Canada is killing more people than homicide, suicide and traffic accidents combined. The statistics are alarming: 8,000 Canadians have died from this crisis, and 11 Canadians are dying each day.
At the take-note debate on Monday evening, my colleague from Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte spoke about the tragic impact the opioid crisis is having on our city of Barrie, Ontario. He spoke about the 38 deaths in 2017 alone, the 38 lives that have been lost and the families that have been decimated. Our community is reeling trying to solve this crisis. It is all hands on deck.
Unbelievably, during the debate, while the member was referring to the 38 deaths, a microphone clearly picked up the Liberal government House leader saying, “Oh that's it? That's not so bad, is it? ” One death in this national crisis is too many, and for the Liberal government House leader to dismiss the deaths of 38 people in Barrie as, “Oh that's it? That's not so bad, is it?”, is unacceptable, repugnant and morally reprehensible.