Madam Chair, experts and public health authorities across Canada, including B.C.'s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, have called for the decriminalization of substance use and the provision of safe supply to bring this crisis under control. The evidence shows conclusively that criminalization exacerbates the harms to those suffering and does not work to help them recover.
The government has repeatedly claimed that it follows expert advice in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the minister has unequivocally ruled out this evidence-based response to the overdose epidemic. Could the minister please explain this contradiction?