Mr. Speaker, I have a petition to present today by hundreds of residents across Canada who are drawing the attention of the House to the following: the Liberal government has established a prison needle exchange program that will be implemented across Canada by 2019. The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers was not consulted on this plan, which puts their members and the Canadian public at risk.
The previous Conservative government passed the Drug-Free Prisons Act, which revoked parole for those who are caught using drugs behind bars. Under this new regulation, an inmate who is approved for the prison needle exchange program is not required to disclose to the Parole Board that he or she is on the program.
Therefore, the citizens are calling on the Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Safety to end the prison needle exchange program and to implement measures that would increase the safety of correctional officers and the surrounding community.