Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present a petition on behalf of concerned residents of Saanich—Gulf Islands and others. The petitioners note that what we have learned from the empirical evidence is that for people who suffer from mental health issues and substance abuse, incarcerating them is not effective in alleviating the burden to society, the individual or their family.
Therefore, the petitioners call upon the government to cease incarceration of people who suffer from drug abuse and to rehabilitate them back into society through treatment programs, as is done in Portugal.