Health committee  I can start answering your questions. That's exactly what we mean by the continuum of services. Community organizations that work on the street need to build trust and help people understand what supervised consumption services entail. Supervised consumption centres also have peer helpers.

Health committee  I'll let Dr. Morissette, who manages all this paperwork, tell you about it.

Health committee  I can start answering your questions, and Dr. Morissette can chime in. Drug analysis has a number of objectives. The first is to give users in different places the opportunity to find out about the risks involved and the content of the drug that they're about to take. These drug sample tests help us understand the drugs currently going around and adjust our harm reduction strategies accordingly.

Health committee  Obviously, treatment can't be the only solution. People have a wide range of needs and different substance use journeys. They may face delays or barriers in accessing services, or they may not be ready. Meanwhile, harm reduction strategies are needed to protect them; provide a safe environment; and reduce the risk of death, infection or various complications.

Health committee  Integration is key. It's what makes our work possible. I could give the floor to Dr. Morissette. She developed the strategy in Montreal over decades. This strategy helps us and all the partners monitor and understand the situation, so that we can develop and adapt our services.

Health committee  Given the overdose crisis, this means taking proactive preventive action. We need to work on risk factors faced by young people, protective measures starting in childhood and socio‑economic conditions. These are known as the structural determinants of health. There's also the whole issue of trauma in indigenous communities.

Health committee  Of course, we know the challenges posed by stigmatizing groups of people and using the courts to solve problems. We also understand the potential impact on people who want to find housing or employment and reintegrate into society. In Montreal, we're working on this issue. However, at this time, we find that the conditions aren't right in terms of services to call for decriminalization rather than legalization.

Health committee  I have already spoken about this topic. The decriminalization of groups of people plays a role in the continuum of services. However, we need the right conditions for implementation. Obviously, we'll be waiting to see the outcome of the work done in British Columbia. At this time, we find that the conditions aren't right in Quebec and Montreal.

Health committee  I think that Quebec's strategy for preventing overdoses provides a good overview of the evidence and the required components. Obviously, the whole monitoring system is important. We need to work with our partners to understand the situation on the ground. It's a key way to help us adjust our services.

Health committee  The parents are indeed worried. We're part of the good neighbours committee, which is looking for solutions. As I said earlier, the Maison Benoît Labre is primarily a shelter and day centre for homeless people. The organization has added two rooms for supervised inhalation and consumption, which serve a minority of users.

Health committee  There aren't any standards or regulations in this area. Let me draw a parallel with the legalization of cannabis. When discussing this issue, we often wondered where the sale sites should be located. If a supervised injection centre must be located about 200 or 500 metres away from day cares or schools, an issue arises.

Health committee  That's fine. We submitted some recommendations to the committee. In particular, we want more flexibility and easier access to exemptions. We also want to break down administrative barriers. Of course, as I said earlier, we recommend increased funding for research in certain areas of treatment and also for the development of new pharmaceutical solutions and harm reduction strategies.

Health committee  Good morning, everyone. Thank you very much to the members of the committee, particularly MP Luc Thériault from the Bloc Québécois, for inviting me to participate in this meeting. It's no secret that Canada as a whole is facing an unprecedented toxic drug crisis. That's why leadership by all orders of government is needed to coordinate an effective response at all levels.