Health committee  —are the toxic drugs, obviously.

Health committee  Hydromorphone has not been found by itself in any of—

Health committee  I'm not sure what the question is. Are we talking about legalization?

Health committee  I think what has gotten us into the situation we're in is prohibition. We've seen that in many different situations over time. We saw that with alcohol prohibition. We see this with cannabis. I think legalization and regulation minimizes harms.

Health committee  Thank you for that question. You're absolutely right that we need to focus on what this is. It's one of a suite that we have heard is necessary. The decriminalization of people—that's the important thing—is about removing criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of controlled substances.

Health committee  Thank you for bringing that up. I think it is important to recognize that many of the issues we're dealing with—and we've talked about that—are related to underlying concerns and issues people have. We know that when homelessness goes up and when poverty goes up, along with income insecurity and inflation, all of these things drive the anxiety and mental health issues that lead people to increased substance use.

Health committee  I will conclude then by saying that this is real people. This crisis continues to ravage our communities, taking the lives of our young people. We need to work together on this. I believe we all have the same goal, which is vibrant, thriving and safe communities. I'm committed and my colleagues are committed to working together to find these solutions, and not giving in to the discourse that we have seen.

Health committee  Thank you. Good morning. I'm Dr. Bonnie Henry. I serve as the provincial health officer here in British Columbia. I also want to acknowledge that I'm speaking to you today from the traditional unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking people, the Esquimalt and Songhees first nations.