Madam Speaker, there is no question that there is an opioid crisis in this country. In my time on Hamilton city council, we did declare an opioid crisis. We were looking at taking positive steps to address it.
I have had many discussions with Hamilton police on the impacts of opioids on the streets, along with crime in general. It is something that residents contact our office about daily, when they see people with addictions issues on the street openly using drugs. It is a huge problem throughout Canada. I think there is a way forward that is compassionate and would address the actual root cause of the opioid crisis, which would be to focus more on addiction supports.
At the end of the day, we cannot arrest ourselves out of an addictions and health care crisis. We need to work collaboratively with the provinces and municipalities to get people the help they need.