Health committee  Certainly. It's going to vary tremendously, depending on needs. Part of the road to recovery model has been streamlining that access. For people who are deemed high priority, it's 24 to 48 hours. It certainly can be longer for those who.... There's a prioritization process. For anyone who is high risk, like youth or people with a high risk of overdose, it's generally within 48 hours, at least in Vancouver Coastal Health.

Health committee  Certainly. Those are two excellent questions. I already briefly discussed the road to recovery model at St. Paul's, and we were very happy to host some of the members there. Once again, we're talking about a coordinated model of care where, essentially.... There's already a question here about forced or coerced treatment.

Health committee  Yes. I would suggest that we need to be focusing on making treatment available and easy for those who are asking for it. That's the bare minimum in terms of where we can start. Moving to your second question—which I think is a very critical one, and one we don't talk about enough—one of my roles is director of our fellowship program here, which I'm very privileged to sit in.

Health committee  I can speak to that more just in the sense of how much I see as a physician, as somebody working on the front lines, how stigma does impact the way we provide care for people who use substances and accordingly their willingness to access care. It is very rare that I see a patient who hasn't experienced stigma related to their substance use, whether it's from friends or family, in the workplace or in the health care system.

Health committee  Absolutely. I work with tremendous colleagues in my institution and all across Canada. There are really good people who see viable solutions and are working towards them. As I mentioned in my remarks, seeing many of these complex issues oversimplified and, to be frank, often made to be such political issues is really challenging for those who are working on the ground and alongside one another, despite many differing opinions, and who are seeing that complexity and that need for different responses in different contexts.

Health committee  Thank you for the question. I'm more than happy to speak about the road to recovery initiative. To the other part of your question speaking about options, as has been alluded to by all of the speakers, every individual has a different relationship with substances. There are different origins and different needs and those change over time.

Health committee  Thank you, and thanks for having me today. I really appreciate the opportunity to come before the committee today, and I want to thank everyone here for all the time and attention being spent on such a critical issue. I'm speaking to you today from Vancouver, where I live and work.