Harold Albrecht

[Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, February 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking my hon. friend, the member for Peace River, for drawing the attention of the House, through this private member's bill, to the complex difficulties created by methamphetamine.

I am fully aware of his deep concern for the problems that methamphetamine inflicts on Canadians. His concern is clearly shared by all members of the House and we intend to support the bill.

Methamphetamine presents a threat to law enforcement authorities. They must simultaneously combat both small toxic labs and superlabs, which are primarily controlled by drug trafficking organizations.

The small labs produce relatively small amounts of methamphetamine and are generally not affiliated with major trafficking organizations. A number of factors have served as catalysts for the spread of small labs, too many of which have located in southwestern Ontario.

In particular, widespread use of the Internet has facilitated the dissemination of recipes setting out the ingredients that are required, the technology to be used and the steps to follow to manufacture methamphetamine in small labs.

Aside from marijuana, methamphetamine is the only widely used illegal drug that is capable of easily being produced by the abuser. Given the unsophisticated nature of the production process, it is easy to see why use of this highly addictive drug is spreading.

Another factor which contributes to the increase in the number of small labs is the ready access to ingredients needed to produce methamphetamine. Some ingredients are available in many of the over the counter cold medications and common household products found at retail stores, including such items as rock salt, battery acid, red phosphorus road flares, pool acid and iodine crystals, which can be used as sources of the necessary chemicals.

Moreover, the only other items needed to manufacture meth are relatively common items such as mason jars, coffee filters, hot plates, pressure cookers, pillowcases, plastic tubing, gas cans and the like.

This drug can cause serious health problems. Meth both changes and damages the brain, and it is powerfully addictive to those who use it. Meth abuse can result in serious behavioural problems, psychotic problems and dangerous medical complications such as cardiovascular problems, strokes and even death. Meth addiction is a chronic relapsing condition that is notoriously tough to treat.

The spread of methamphetamine is due to the simple manufacturing process and the availability of its required precursors.

I believe that international cooperation is an important element in combating methamphetamine. Some of the most significant and successful international efforts to combat methamphetamine have involved a series of joint law enforcement initiatives between Canada and the United States from the late 1990s until 2003.

Also, a resolution entitled “Strengthening Systems for the Control of Precursor Chemicals used in the Manufacture of Synthetic Drugs” was adopted in Vienna in 2006.

The hon. member has proposed a bill which extends the operation of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. During second reading debate, concerns were expressed about whether the bill would criminalize those who are innocently using common household products. I am pleased that the standing committee adopted an amendment to the bill, supported by the sponsoring member, to ensure that a person would have to know that the equipment or substance was to be used to manufacture meth.

Another improvement made to the bill by the standing committee was to introduce a specific penalty for the new offence. The maximum sentence will be 10 years, which is the same as the maximum penalty currently provided in the CDSA for trafficking in, importing, exporting or producing meth.

Finally, I want to conclude by stating that I commend the initiative of the member for Peace River, and I am pleased to support the bill as amended by the standing committee.

[Tackling Violent Crime Act, February 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have had enough of the Liberal leader's hear nothing, say nothing and do nothing approach to tackling crime, while the members of his party sit back and watch the Liberal-controlled Senate delay and obstruct the passage of the tackling violent crime act.

I have sat with families of crime victims in my riding of Kitchener—Conestoga, who have shared how their lives have been changed forever by violent criminal acts. I would like to remind the Liberal leader that the Liberal premier of Ontario and several other stakeholder groups are also urging the Senate to act now.

Margaret Miller, National President of MADD Canada, stated, “Bill C-2 will save lives and reduce impaired driving incidents on our roads”. She continued, saying, “We plead with the Senators in the Committee and in the Chamber, don't delay passing Bill C-2”.

I join these groups in their call to action. The safety of Canadians is a priority for this government. When will the Liberal leader finally stand up and take action?

[HIV-AIDS among Aboriginal People, February 7th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I was troubled by four things from the previous speaker.

One was the disrespectful way in which she spoke about our Prime Minister by referring to him by his first name in the chamber. She also chastised us for boasting about how much we spend on HIV-AIDS in one breath and in the next breath she said we were not spending enough. Then she accused us of paternalism, when I clearly pointed out in my speech the multitude of examples of collaboration and community based initiatives.

Finally, how does she respond to the unanimous report of the Canadian Police Association in saying that the Insite program does not work, that it is a safe haven for traffickers, and fosters a sense of entitlement among drug users?

[HIV-AIDS among Aboriginal People, February 7th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to respond to that question. Earlier this evening a colleague opposite made the comment that members on this side of the House do not care about first nations communities or aboriginal people. I take exception to that.

When I came to Parliament two years ago I requested the opportunity to serve on the aboriginal affairs and northern development committee. It was not out of any sense of expertise or anything like that, but out of a desire to serve and work alongside my colleagues here to address the issues that have plagued our aboriginal communities for years.

I am pleased that at different times the aboriginal affairs committee has had the opportunity to hear witnesses from communities where they have succeeded in amazing ways in terms of economic development and educational opportunities. They have improved the lives of the people either on first nations reserves or in urban centres.

We have much to celebrate in terms of the progress we have made. I for one am very optimistic about the fact that our aboriginal communities have the ideas and we need to listen to them and work with them, as I said in my speech, collaboratively and cooperatively to address these issues.

[HIV-AIDS among Aboriginal People, February 7th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the fact that we are here addressing this issue indicates the urgency with which we all see this issue. We certainly want to take action on it.

I trust that during the comments I made my colleagues picked up on the number of times that I referred to community based. What is key is that we look to aboriginal groups, working in cooperation and collaboration with government, to provide programs that are culturally relevant and that have been recommended by aboriginal groups for aboriginal groups and then we will have a much greater chance of success.

To say that we have not had success in dealing with these issues and putting it on this government is somewhat unreasonable. We have been working at this for the last two years but this problem has not been with us for only two years. With the examples I have given, we are certainly taking it seriously and, as I said, working in collaboration.

The other point I would like to address is on the question that was raised about the Insite model. A number of my colleagues in the NDP have referred to this and have implied that there is unanimous support for this model. , I do not take anything away from the democratic right of my colleagues in the NDP to recommend this as an effective model, that is what democracy is about, but it is very important that Canadians understand that there is not unanimous support for this type of treatment. In fact, I recall very vividly last year when a number of people from the Canadian Police Association visited my office and shared with me a number of concerns they had regarding the justice system in our country. One of the issues that is of concern to the Canadian Police Association is this very practice.

I want to read word for word from Canadian Police Association's journal so it is on the record. It states:

While Canada’s existing laws have been successful in limiting the harm caused by illicit drug use, there needs to be a sustained effort to educate Canadians, particularly vulnerable young people, about the adverse effects of illicit drug use. Young people are receiving conflicting and often confusing messages about the harms associated with marijuana use.

It goes on to state:

The CPA [Canadian Police Association] is concerned that the permissive approach to drug use has failed Canadians. At our Annual General Meeting in August 2006, CPA delegates voted unanimously to urge the government to cease all financing of the supervised injection site program and invest in a national drug strategy to combat drug addiction which, in addition to enforcement, includes education, prevention and treatment.

It further states:

In Vancouver, police officers and citizens are seeing a rise in drug related activities around the supervised injection sites, other than those that use the facility. These types of programs are delivering the wrong message to our children and youth on drug use. It trivializes the use of illicit drugs when the focus should be on treating the people who need help, not encouraging them to keep using drugs. The supervised injection site program has had no impact on reducing public disorder and has, in fact, created a safe haven for traffickers and fosters a sense of entitlement among drug users.

I wanted that on the record because there is not unanimous approval of that kind of treatment objective.

[HIV-AIDS among Aboriginal People, February 7th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to address the proactive action that is being taken to address HIV-AIDS in this country and around the world.

As our Minister of Health indicated, this government is committed to addressing HIV-AIDS issues in Canada, and specifically within first nations, Inuit and Métis communities.

The issue of HIV-AIDS is one that has probably touched virtually every community that is represented here in the House of Commons. In my dental practice I treated those infected with HIV and I saw first hand the devastation that this disease can cause.

I have travelled to many developing countries and I have witnessed the destructive effects of this disease, not just on those infected, but also on the families and the communities left to deal with the aftermath.

This past December in Kitchener, I had the privilege of walking through the One Life Experience, a 2,000 square foot interactive exhibit created by World Vision, which allows people to walk in the shoes of one of four children who have been affected by AIDS. This powerful display gave me a renewed sense of what it must be like to deal with the bad news that the blood tests have been returned and have confirmed a positive HIV diagnosis. How does one deal with that shattering news? My prayers go out to those who have been infected with HIV and to the families and communities that are left scrambling to cope.

Approximately 58,000 Canadians were estimated to be living with HIV infection in 2005. This unfortunately represents a 16% increase from 2002.

While new infections will unfortunately continue to occur, survival rates will improve due to treatments for HIV. As a result, requirements for treatment and care will also continue to increase in the future. An estimated 2,300 to 4,500 new HIV infections occurred in Canada in 2005, slightly higher than what was estimated for 2002. That is troubling to say the least.

We all have a collective responsibility to ensure that concerted action is taken. This government has taken concrete steps to address this disease, and hopefully one day, we will find a vaccine that will alleviate this worldwide epidemic.

In terms of who is most at risk in Canada, we can identify three groups. The main risk group for HIV in Canada is men who have sex with men. This group comprises 45% of new infections. Persons exposed to HIV through heterosexual contact comprise approximately 36% of new infections. Of the groups that are most at risk in Canada, persons who inject drugs make up 16% of new infections.

This last statistic is of particular importance to the aboriginal community as the proportion of new HIV infections among aboriginal Canadians due to injection drug use is much higher than among all Canadians. This highlights the uniqueness of the HIV epidemic among aboriginal persons and it underscores the complexity of Canada's HIV epidemic.

Aboriginal persons continue to be over-represented in the HIV epidemic in Canada. They represent 3.3% of the Canadian population, and yet in 2005 it was estimated that aboriginal persons accounted for 7.5% of all those living with HIV in Canada. That is an estimated 3,600 to 5,100 aboriginal persons living with HIV. Equally troubling is the fact that aboriginal persons also comprised 9% of the new HIV infections in 2005. These numbers give us an overall HIV infection rate among aboriginal persons about 2.8 times higher than among non-aboriginal persons.

Canada is in the middle of the range of developed countries with respect to rates of HIV infection. Our per capita rate of persons living with HIV infection is lower than that in the U.S.A., Italy and France, but it is higher than that in the U.K and Australia.

The rate of newly reported cases of HIV infection in B.C. is slightly higher than in Canada as a whole. In 2006, 8.4 new cases per 100,000 were reported in British Columbia. This compared to 7.8 cases per 100,000 across Canada. Again we see a disparity in the percentages. Overall, 20.3% of Canada's cumulative reported HIV cases are from B.C., whereas B.C. represents about 13% of Canada's population.

In 2005 and 2006 the proportion of reported HIV cases attributed to an injection drug use exposure in British Columbia was 25% as compared to 19.3% in the rest of Canada. Of the 4.3 million plus people living in British Columbia, 4.5% were estimated to be of aboriginal identity, this according to the latest 2006 census.

Among the HIV reports in B.C. with ethnicity information, aboriginal persons accounted for 15.1% of cases reported in 2005 and 15.8% of cases reported in 2006. The rate of new HIV infections among aboriginal injection drug users compared to non-aboriginal users has been observed for a number of years in Vancouver. While this in itself is not a new finding, it continues to be an issue of concern and is related to the overall higher rates of HIV infection in aboriginals in Canada in general.

Building on what the hon. minister said, I will to provide some concrete examples of what is being done by this government to address HIV-AIDS in aboriginal communities across Canada. This of course includes what is being done in Vancouver's downtown east side.

The government knows that many factors have increased the vulnerability of aboriginal Canadians to HIV. HIV-AIDS has a particularly significant impact on aboriginal women. Females represent nearly half of all positive HIV test reports among aboriginal peoples, approximately 47% as opposed to 20% of reports among non-aboriginal people. Aboriginal people are also infected with HIV at a younger age than their non-aboriginal counterparts.

As stated before, injection drug use is the main risk for HIV-AIDS among aboriginal people in Canada. Over half of the new HIV infections estimated among aboriginal people for 2005 were attributed to injection drug use compared with only 14% among all Canadians.

As noted by our hon. Minister of Health, the government is serious about addressing the issue of drug use among Canadians. The national anti-drug strategy offers a two track approach which is tough on crime and compassionate for victims, and provides $63.8 million over two years to tackle the drug trade. It includes three action plans: one, preventing illicit drug use among young Canadians; two, treating people with illicit drug dependencies; and three, combatting the production and distribution of illicit drugs.

Drug use is devastating to Canadians. It destroys individuals, tears families apart and carries life altering consequences, and the government is taking action.

Under the federal initiative to address HIV-AIDS in Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, in partnership with Health Canada, supports the work of the National Aboriginal Council on HIV-AIDS. This council acts as an advisory mechanism. It provides policy advice to Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada and other relevant stakeholders about HIV-AIDS and related issues among all aboriginal peoples in Canada.

The council is a mechanism for the development and coordination of shared actions between the federal initiative to address HIV-AIDS in Canada and aboriginal communities working on HIV-AIDS issues. Its aim is to ensure that Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada and its representatives have effective and efficient access to policy advice regarding aboriginal HIV-AIDS and related issues.

The Public Health Agency of Canada supports community based organizations as well as national NGOs to achieve a number of goals. These goals include: supporting a national voluntary sector response that plays a coordinating and leadership role in the response to HIV-AIDS; helping engage in direct meaningful involvement with people living with or at risk of HIV-AIDS; encouraging collaboration and partnership to address risk factors of the disease and achieve an integrated approach to disease prevention across sectors; enhancing the capacity of individuals, organizations and communities to respond to this epidemic; gathering and encouraging the exchange of HIV-AIDS information and knowledge; enabling the development of respective informed and innovative policies and program interventions that are relevant across Canada; and finally, enhancing a broader response to the HIV-AIDS epidemic and its underlying causes.

For example, the Public Health Agency supports specific projects in the Vancouver downtown east side: the Vancouver Native Health Society for a project that aims to reduce disparities in HIV treatment and care through community based initiatives; and the Western Aboriginal Harm Reduction Society to advance regional capacity building initiatives for non-reserve community based programing through workshops, training, outreach, community forums and discussions.

Also, the Positive Women Network is supported to increase access to integrated culturally relevant services by young HIV positive aboriginal women and other women in collaboration with other stakeholders. This will create a peer-driven, safe and supportive environment for young HIV positive women, particularly in the Vancouver downtown east side, and focus on a meaningful participation of these women in the direction of their own care, support and prevention initiatives.

The network is also supported in the development of innovative programing and resources for women, their families and service providers. It develops culturally appropriate services for aboriginal women who face multiple barriers to care, treatment and support.

The Persons with AIDS Society of British Columbia is being supported to assist its members on matters such as income security, will and estates, landlord and tenancy issues and human rights infringement. Staff and volunteers help clients prepare forms, understand procedures and, at times, accompany clients at tribunal hearings or appeals.

The Public Health Agency of Canada also supports five national projects, specifically targeting aboriginal communities and HIV-AIDS.

The first is the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network's culturally appropriate harm reduction program development. The project objective is to develop national and regional capacity building initiatives from non-reserve aboriginal community based programing. This will be achieved by developing a harm reduction model targeting vulnerable populations, including at risk women and youth, inmates and two-spirited men developing training on using the model in creating a national aboriginal task force on injection drug use.

The second is the Red Road HIV/AIDS Network Society's bloodlines project. This project objective is to provide an accurate, culturally relevant publication that includes meaningful educational information for aboriginal people living with HIV-AIDS and their family and friends, front line workers, health providers, program planners and policy-makers. The project objective will be achieved through launching Bloodlines Magazine nationally, which represents the voice of marginalized populations.

The third is the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network's Fostering Community Leadership to End HIV-AIDS Stigma and Discrimination Social Marketing campaign. The project objective is to increase levels of awareness and knowledge about HIV-AIDS among aboriginal leadership by at least 10% through social marketing principles.

The project intends to end stigma and discrimination and create community environments that may become more responsive and conducive to establishing needed education, prevention, testing, diagnostic care, treatment and support programs. The project objective will be achieved through an initial social marketing campaign that is intended to speak to the basic principles of human rights.

The fourth is the Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada's project titled, “Addressing the HIV Needs of Inuit in Urban Centres”. This project's objective is to improve the quality of life of Inuit infected with or affected by HIV by improving access to Inuit-centred prevention, diagnosis, care, treatment and support provided by AIDS service organizations, aboriginal and non-aboriginal-specific organizations, as well as other health, medical or social service providers.

The project objective will be achieved through the formation of an advisory committee, a literature review of HIV prevention, testing and diagnosis, care and support services currently available, interviews with Inuit men and women and through the identification of gaps and strategies to develop a best practice document and/or audiovisual teaching tool.

The fifth is a further Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network project. Its objective is to develop national and regional capacity building initiatives for a non-reserve aboriginal community based program. This will be achieved by developing a harm reduction model targeting vulnerable populations, developing training on using the model and creating a national aboriginal task force on injection drug use.

As we can see, the government is working closely with aboriginal communities to support efforts that are and will continue to make a difference.

[Justice, January 31st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader is refusing to stand up for Canadians who are calling on the government to protect the safety of our children.

Ignoring the Liberal Ontario premier, who supports swift passage of the tackling violent crime act, the opposition leader refuses to show leadership by not urging his senators to expedite the bill.

More can be done and must be done to protect our children, and the Liberals should get on side. Could the Minister of Justice please tell the Liberals what they can do to ensure passage of the tackling violent crime act?

[Half-Masting of Peace Tower Flag, January 29th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, we are all aware that this issue has been raised many times in a variety of different fora. I think we all agree that we need to honour the sacrifice of our brave men and women in uniform and that we do in fact mourn every death that we hear about. Our troops know that they have our wholehearted support.

There are some questions on the part of those who have served our country in many different ways in the past. When this issue came to our attention in April 2006, the veterans themselves spoke up. ANAVETS, the organization representing army, navy and air force veterans in Canada, said that the practice of lowering the Peace Tower flag insulted the relatives in memory of tens of thousands of past veterans who gave their lives for Canada but who were not granted this additional honour. Was their sacrifice any less important than those today?

Is the member aware that this motion, as it is worded, would fail to give the same honour to Canadian Forces personnel killed while serving at home in Canada as it would to those abroad? Would the hon. member explain the reason for that?

What clear criteria does the member use to define “peacekeeping”, “peacemaking” and “humanitarian missions”?

Is the member also aware that his motion fails to give the same recognition to the sacrifice of policemen or firemen who are killed in the line of duty in Canada as it would to government personnel killed on a humanitarian mission abroad?

[International Aid, December 13th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are well aware of the major natural disasters that occur around the world. We know that Canada's government made its largest contribution this year to aid the victims of the cyclone in Bangladesh. But there are lesser known catastrophes that do not garner national media attention. The United Nations central emergency response fund was set up to deal with these emergencies.

Can the Minister of International Cooperation tell the House what Canada's government is doing to aid this organization?

[World Vision, December 10th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Christian world relief organization World Vision has created the One Life Experience, a 2,000 square foot interactive exhibit that allows people to walk in the shoes of one of four children affected by AIDS, guided by a soundtrack of their personal stories on an MP3 player.

Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to tour the display in my home community of Kitchener. The people at World Vision have done an incredible job of taking a very crucial subject and capturing the hearts and minds of casual observers on a very real personal level.

This is especially important to me because my daughter and son-in-law have just returned from Zimbabwe, where they were studying ways to address the AIDS tragedy.

I am proud that the government is stepping up and working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and providing up to $111 million for our HIV prevention vaccine initiative.

I say thanks to World Vision for its incredible work. This is an organization that is not just talking; it is putting boots on the ground and getting work done.