Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege and honour to rise today to present two petitions on behalf of residents in my riding of Courtenay—Alberni. These residents are from Courtenay, Cumberland, Parksville and Port Alberni.
The petitioners call on the government to address the opioid crisis. They cite that since 2016, over 11,000 Canadians have died preventable deaths from fentanyl-poisoned sources. They also cite that these deaths are more than all deaths combined from SARS, H1N1 and Ebola.
The petitioners want the Government of Canada to declare the current opioid crisis and fentanyl poisoning crisis a national public health emergency under the Emergencies Act in order to manage and resource it, with the aim to reduce and eliminate preventable deaths. They want the government to reform current drug policy to decriminalize personal possession. Last, they want, with urgency and immediacy, a system to provide safe, unadulterated access to substances so that people who are using substances experimentally, recreationally or chronically are not at imminent risk of overdose due to a contaminated source.