Doug Eyolfson

[Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act, May 4th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of Bill C-224, the good Samaritan drug overdose act.

As we have heard, the bill would encourage people to call 911 to report drug overdoses by protecting them from prosecution for drug possession. It would also exempt anyone at the scene from possession charges, but it would not apply to more serious offences like trafficking or impaired driving.

Drawing on my 20 years' experience as an emergency physician, I can say with confidence that, if passed, Bill C-224 will save lives.

We have all seen the headlines about rising numbers of overdose deaths in Canada, especially from the powerful opioid, fentanyl. On Friday, April 15, British Columbia declared a public health emergency with over 200 overdose deaths in the last three months. In the emergency room and too often in the morgue, we see the human toll behind these numbers.

Victims of drug overdoses are not statistics. They are our fellow Canadians. They are our neighbours, our friends' kids, maybe our own family. I stand today to say with conviction that in a medical emergency brought on by an overdose, fear of the law should not prevent people from picking up the phone and saving a life.

I hope all members will join me in thanking the member for Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam for bringing forward this timely and important piece of legislation. Common sense tells us and evidence confirms that Bill C-224 will help eliminate the delays in treatment that lead to debilitating injuries and death. I only wish Parliament had passed such a law years ago. It is heartbreaking to think of the lives that could have been saved.

In my own clinical experience in the emergency room, I have encountered patients who, because of their signs and symptoms, have caused me to suspect that they are under the influence of one or more potentially dangerous substances. The findings of physical examination alone are too variable to provide sufficient information, and laboratory tests often take too long to be of benefit.

I have to ask these patients, or those who accompany them, what substances they have taken. Typically, they are reluctant to provide this information. However, once I explain that there is no risk of prosecution due to patient-physician confidentiality, they give me honest answers and I am able to provide better care.

On more than one occasion this ability to gather information has prevented tragedy. However, this degree of confidentiality is not guaranteed in the community when people have to communicate with first responders. This freedom to communicate frankly with emergency services must be extended to anyone in our communities who witnesses or experiences an overdose. How can we compare the value of convicting someone on a minor charge with the value of saving a life?

In 2016 we see addiction as a health issue. I speak as an emergency physician with much of my 20 years of clinical experience in the poverty-stricken core of Winnipeg. I am aware that some people perceive persons who overdose as having made a bad decision and are therefore responsible for their fates. Perhaps they believe that saving overdose victims is not a moral obligation. However, it is almost unanimously accepted by the medical profession that addiction is an illness.

Furthermore, it is not widely understood by the public that drug abuse is highly correlated with underlying mental illness, as many individuals with undiagnosed or poorly controlled mental illness ingest substances in an attempt to self-medicate.

[Criminal Code, April 22nd, 2016]

Madam Speaker, the speech by the hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton was impassioned and very principled.

Just from my perspective, the question was brought up as to whether or not medical practitioners should have the right to exercise their conscience in either performing or referring with respect to this. I have practised medicine for 20 years. I know the importance of keeping to one's conscience in the medical practice.

Another controversial issue in our society is abortion. There is no legislative protection for physicians that says they have the right to refuse to perform abortions or refuse to refer for them. However, no physician in Canada, to my knowledge, has ever been forced to perform against one's conscience.

I do not know that such legislation is therefore required for the same objection in this issue.

[History of Charleswood, April 19th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the House to recognize the efforts of Verna and Len Van Roon in preserving the history of the Charleswood community.

Over the years, they have educated many of my constituents, and indeed myself, on the lives of Charleswood's war heroes. They created a book celebrating the history of the community and they played an instrumental role in the founding and running of the Charleswood Historical Society's museum. In 2009, the community honoured their dedication with a plaque.

Verna is no longer with us, but Len and her son carry on the Van Roon family's important work. They remain tireless champions of Charleswood, committed to improving the community's quality of life.

Our past guides our future. To affirm that Canadians' local history is a part of our shared national history and to recognize the Van Roon family's ongoing contribution, I would ask members to please join me in offering the Van Roons our sincere thanks.

[Situation in Indigenous Communities, April 12th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to sincerely thank the hon. member for his comments and his work on this issue. I appreciate his passion on this, and I agree completely on how important this issue is.

The hon. member for Timmins—James Bay made reference to medevacing people out from remote communities. This reference resonates with me personally. Since starting in the mid-1990s, I spent 13 years as a flight physician with the Manitoba air ambulance. On more than one occasion, I personally performed medevacs to first nation communities, airlifting young people who had attempted suicide out. Some of them survived, but tragically, others did not.

Appallingly, as much as it is unacceptable to see this once in one's life, I lost count of the number of times I saw this. My colleagues said the same thing. We knew this was a pattern for years, and this was 20 years ago. This is not a pattern that has occurred under the watch of any one provincial or federal government. We saw several governments come and go over this time.

These incidents did not make the press; they were individual tragedies, but we have been brought together by some high-profile tragic events.

I have no question, but I would simply thank the hon. member for his comments and assure him that I think we are all going to work together toward the same goal.

[Canada Labour Code, February 26th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member admits that other organizations like medical associations, legal associations, and churches perhaps should have been included, and yet they were not included. Only unions were included.

How can the hon. member state that the bill was not in fact targeted at the labour movement?

[Business of Supply, February 2nd, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I cannot find any fault with any of the goals of the motion and what it wants to accomplish. We want to improve the rights of women and have equality in the workplace. We have a golden opportunity in the House today to have unanimous support for the motion. We understand that there is some history that the hon. member and her party wishes to acknowledge, but is there any way that removing this objectionable clause to get unanimous support would abrogate any of the rights of women in the workplace?

[John Harvard, January 25th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour the memory of John Harvard, former member of Parliament for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, who passed away on January 9 after a courageous battle with cancer at the age of 77.

Born and raised in Glenboro, Manitoba, John began an award-winning 30-year career in broadcast journalism in 1957. John then successfully ran for federal politics in 1988 and served as a member of Parliament for 16 years. In 2004, John Harvard became the 23rd lieutenant-governor of Manitoba, serving the province until 2009.

John's commitment to democracy was unshakable to the end. In the fall of 2015, John had a friend take him to an advance poll to vote as he was not sure he would still be alive on election day.

On behalf of the constituents of Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, I offer my condolences to John Harvard's friends and family, and I thank John for his dedicated service to the people of Canada.