House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 38% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 18th, 2023
Madam Speaker, this is about facts and statistics, and the very sad fact is that opioid deaths have been going up, especially after the government started this program of so-called safe supply. Just in B.C. alone, there has been a 330% increase in overdose deaths. Those are the facts. That is why we need to change the system. It is not working. The government's plan does not work. We need a better plan. A Conservative plan would focus on treatment and compassionate care.
Business of Supply May 18th, 2023
Madam Speaker, it is true that we do have recovery programs in Canada, but the problem is that we need more of them; they need to be more available. I talk to many parents whose children are suffering from these addictions about recovery programs. There are long wait times, and some of these programs are extremely expensive, so they are not able to get their children into these programs, nor their family members, their friends or whoever they may be.
Our plan is to stop giving taxpayer-funded hard drugs to those with addictions, and it is to put all that money the government has been providing to that into addiction programs to help those struggling with addictions through treatment. That is what would help Canadians right across the country.
Business of Supply May 18th, 2023
Madam Speaker, the unfortunate part of this debate is that the government has chosen to pick certain facts to go on and it ignores other facts. The fact of the matter is that deaths have been going up. Opioid overdoses have gone up. Drugs supplied by the government to those struggling with addiction are now available on the streets, and the cost of drugs has been reduced, so they can be purchased by our young people. That is the reality. That is what is happening across our country, and that is what is making this crisis worse.
That is why we are saying that we need to stop the taxpayer-funded drugs and help these Canadians suffering from addictions with treatment.
Business of Supply May 18th, 2023
Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Peterborough—Kawartha.
After eight years of the Prime Minister, everything feels broken. Life costs more. Work does not pay, and housing costs have doubled. The Prime Minister divides to control the people. Worst of all, crime and chaos, and drugs and disorder rage in our streets. Nowhere is it worse than the opioid overdose crisis that has expanded so dramatically in the last several years.
This is an important debate we are having today. The opioid addiction crisis is real, and it is costing Canadian lives. The unimaginable pain that those who are suffering from addictions are going through, as well as that of their families, their friends and their loved ones, cannot be understated.
I know that many of us here have probably gone to too many funerals, and I know I have, of those who were suffering from addiction because of this crisis. Many times when we talk about those who are addicted or people who are struggling with addiction, we think about the people who we might see in the downtown or who might be homeless. It is true, some of them are. However, very often they are also the people we know, people we may not have expected, people who might be family members, co-workers, friends or neighbours, people who we would not expect to be in that situation but are in this crisis and are suffering from addiction.
We know there is no simple solution. The issue here is very complex and there are many factors that affect it. What we can see is that the Liberal government approach is not working. The Liberal plan is not helping those who are struggling to get past their addiction and fully recover. In fact, those Liberal policies have actually made the situation worse.
I want to read from the text of the motion today. It says:
...given that,
(i) Canada is in the midst of an opioid crisis that has killed over 35,000 people since 2016,
(ii) since 2017, the federal government has spent over $800 million on its failed Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy, including over $100 million in funding for hard-drug supply projects across Canada, and plans to spend an additional $74 million to “scale up” these projects over the next five years,
(iii) since tax-funded drug supply was ramped up in 2020, opioid deaths have only gone up, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada,
(iv) in 2020, slightly less than 7,000 people died of opioid overdoses, while only 3,000 died of overdoses in 2016, according to the Library of Parliament,
(v) in British Columbia alone, yearly drug overdose deaths have increased by 330% between 2015 and 2022,
(vi) recently, a Global News reporter in East Vancouver was able to buy 26 hits for $30 in just 30 minutes of a dangerous and highly addictive opioid that is distributed in tax-funded drug supply programs and flooding our streets with cheap opioids,
the House call on the government to immediately reverse its deadly policies and redirect all funds from taxpayer-funded, hard drug programs to addiction, treatment and recovery programs.
What would Conservatives do?
Conservatives believe that addiction is a health condition and that it should be treated as such. A Conservative government would have a recovery-oriented system of care that helps people on their journey. This means prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery. Conservatives believe that we have to meet people where they are at, but we need to stop leaving them there. We should be helping them get their lives and their families back, and help them fully recover.
It is not just that the Liberal program is a failed experiment that has been tried and which has failed in other cities in other parts of the world. The scary part is that their program is adding more drugs to the streets, which is making the drug supply cheaper, so there are now more drugs on the streets. It has become more affordable for those trying to purchase them.
There is a B.C.-based physician who says that, before safe supply, before the government's program, 8 milligrams of hydromorphone tablets sold for $10 in Vancouver's downtown east side. The doctor says it now costs between 50¢ and a dollar.
Dr. Vincent Lam, the medical director of Coderix Addiction Therapy, provided insight into the situation in downtown Toronto, so we are going from from Vancouver to Toronto. According to his patients, 8 milligrams of the same drug tablets that used to go for $20 on the street now sell for between two dollars and five dollars, and sometimes as little as one dollar.
A doctor in Ottawa said that 24 milligrams of hydromorphone, which they believe came from the city's safe supply facilities, sells for two dollars on the street. Before safe supply, they were selling for $20 to $30. A representative from the Nanaimo Area Network of Drug Users said that the system is broken. They estimated that up to 80% of safe supply drugs in Nanaimo, B.C., are currently being diverted. The system definitely is broken. It is not working.
What is happening is that those who are struggling with these addictions are selling the drugs they are receiving from the government. They are selling them because they need stronger drugs. These ones do not work any more. They are selling them at such a low cost that even our young Canadians, children and youth, are able to buy them for one or two dollars a hit. We are creating a cycle where more and more Canadians are getting more addicted rather than breaking that addiction.
This crisis has left Canadians struggling right across the country, and it does not see background or religion. I have talked to many parents in South Asian communities who have seen their children go through these addictions and go through the struggle.
I visited a gurdwara in Surrey where the head of the gurdwara said that they have sent home international students, and we are talking hundreds across the country. They have had to send home their bodies. Many of them have stresses. There are pressures that they face, having come to Canada. They are young, and it is different, so there is loneliness. There are pressures on them, financial stress. Many of them have become addicted to drugs, and many of them have overdosed. This itself has become a pandemic and a serious crisis in the community.
All of this, addictions, the use of drugs and the supply of drugs, have also led to more gang activity as well, which has led to more of our young people dying. They are being killed in gang activity. Conservatives' common-sense plan would end taxpayer dollars for drugs and put people in addiction, treatment and recovery programs. Conservatives will bring our loved ones home, drug-free.
Alberta Wildfires May 8th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, since Saturday, Alberta has been in a state of emergency due to raging wildfires. Currently, there are 108 wildfires across the province: 28 that are out of control, 20 that are being held and 60 that are under control. Nearly 30,000 Albertans have been evacuated from their homes and, sadly, some have already lost their homes.
The hot, dry and windy conditions continue to produce extreme burning conditions and a fire ban remains in place for most of Alberta.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the firefighters who are working tirelessly, day and night, to keep our communities safe while risking their own lives, including firefighters who arrived yesterday from Ontario and Quebec to help the efforts. We also extend our gratitude to all emergency personnel, volunteers and everyone who is out there helping their fellow Albertans.
Our prayers are with them during this challenging time, and we remain Alberta strong.
Justice April 17th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the government's soft-on-crime policies, Canadians do not feel safe to walk on the streets or use public transit.
An Edmonton police officer wrote to me, saying, “The most startling pattern development I have noticed recently is an increase in random, unprovoked assaults on innocent citizens. The constant struggle of the 'catch and release' of criminals for my profession cannot be overstated.”
As reported by the National Post, police officers are being shot and killed on duty at unprecedented rates, and record numbers of Canadians are being randomly attacked by people they have never met. The government is doing nothing to stop it. ln fact, it is making things worse by releasing violent criminals back onto the streets, sometimes in the same hour they were arrested.
A Conservative government would bring back mandatory jail time for violent crimes. We would crack down on easy access to bail, and we would keep violent offenders where they belong, which is behind bars.
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns March 29th, 2023
With regard to aircraft owned by the government, broken down by department, agency or other government entity that owns the aircraft, excluding aircraft owned by the Department of National Defence: (a) what is the total number of aircraft currently owned by the government; and (b) what are the details of each aircraft, including (i) the make, (ii) the model, (iii) the age, (iv) the date of purchase, (v) the original purchase price, (vi) whether the aircraft was new or used when purchased, (vii) the estimated cost to operate per flight hour, (viii) the estimated hourly fuel usage, (ix) the operational readiness or the percentage of time the aircraft is available for use, (x) the primary purpose of the aircraft?
Committees of the House March 23rd, 2023
Mr. Speaker, we would like a recorded vote.
Brett Ryan and Travis Jordan March 20th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, last week in Edmonton, two brave police officers were killed in the line of duty while they were serving and protecting our community. Thirty-year-old Constable Brett Ryan, who served the Edmonton Police Service for five and a half years, was also involved locally as a hockey referee. He and his wife were expecting their first child. Thirty-five-year-old Constable Travis Jordan, who served the Edmonton Police Service for eight and a half years, was known as kind and compassionate and was always willing to help out a neighbour.
Losing these two heroes is a devastating and profound loss for their families and loved ones and, of course, for our entire Edmonton community. Let us all recognize and appreciate the bravery and sacrifice of all law enforcement officers, who put their lives on the line to keep us all safe.
I know all of our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of Constable Jordan and Constable Ryan, as well as with the entire Edmonton Police Service at this very difficult time.
Business of Supply February 14th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, as a government, it is important to support Canadians, and the Conservatives will be there for Canadians to ensure that health care is funded properly and that Canadians have that support. What we will also do is save money in other places where there is wasteful spending. That is what we are asking for the government to do. We did not say to cut all spending. What we said was to cut wasteful spending.
The Infrastructure Bank was not something we needed. Contracts for Liberal insiders should be cut and consultants should be fired. The government's gun buyback program is not needed. The Liberals are going after law-abiding Canadian citizens when they could be spending that money at the border where the real problems are. There is also the ArriveCAN app.
There are so many examples of where the government could be cutting funding. That is what the Conservatives would do.