Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to table to a petition calling on the government to declare a public health emergency for the opioid crisis that is affecting Canadians right across the country. We have lost over 12,000 Canadians to the opioid crisis.
The petitioners are from Courtenay—Alberni. They are calling on the government to reform current drug policy, to decriminalize personal possession, to create a sense of urgency and immediacy, and create a system to provide safe, unadulterated access to substances so that people who use substances experimentally, recreationally or chronically are not at imminent risk of overdose due to a contaminated source.
The petitioners are calling on the government to declare the current opioid overdose 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. This will save lives.
The petitioners are calling on the House to take real action.