Mr. Speaker, that is a really important question. What I like to say is that every single one of those deaths from an overdose was preventable. Those people were sons, daughters, sisters and brothers. They were members of families and are now gone forever because of an epidemic that is ravaging small communities right across the country, particularly in British Columbia and communities like Duncan in my riding of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford.
I am really pleased to announce to the House that the NDP leader, the hon. member for Burnaby South, is coming to my riding this Saturday. I am going to be taking him for a tour through some of the hardest-hit parts of my community, where he is going to have an opportunity to speak with local business owners who have been impacted by the epidemic, and also a chance to speak to front-line workers who have been going through PTSD because of the sheer number of people who are dying from this crisis.
To get to the member's question, it is great to see that we have programs like the substance abuse and addictions program by Health Canada, but that program needs to be expanded much more. It is the toxic street supply of drugs that really needs to be tackled, but the biggest thing we need to do and where we need the most leadership from the federal government is to address the ongoing criminalization of the possession of small amounts. Once we get past that step and get people past the ongoing stigma of criminality, I think they will be encouraged to come forward out of the shadows and get the help they truly need so that we can start taking very affirmative and worthwhile steps to tackle this crisis that is ravaging so many communities.