Honourable senators, I rise today to speak in support of Bill S-229, the health-centred approach to substance use act. First, let me thank Senator Boniface for her extraordinary leadership on this important piece of legislation. In her speech the other evening she drew on her years of experience as a senior police officer and leader, and highlighted the complexities of this issue that drive the need for a multifaceted and phased response. That is exactly what her bill would suggest.

While the COVID-19 pandemic rages, Canada is also in the midst of another epidemic brought on by the proliferation of opiates in the street supply of drugs. These toxic compounds are cut into drugs that end up on the streets of large cities in suburban and rural areas and can lead to higher instances of overdose and death. There is evidence to suggest that over time these opiates have become consistently more potent, allowing the user to experience a greater high while consequently making the drug more addictive. As a result, there is a greater risk to the user’s health.

While this crisis has now reached a breaking point, it has been a problem for decades. Indeed, the origin of the crisis began in the 1990s with the introduction of prescription opioids by pharmaceutical companies such as Purdue Pharma, who claimed these painkillers were not addictive and therefore could be prescribed at higher rates. When it became clear that patients were abusing these opiates because they were addictive, health care providers undertook to limit prescriptions. The result is that many people with addictions were pushed to the street where they are able to obtain cheaper and more potent opioids like fentanyl, and later carfentanil. Using street opioids instead of prescribed medical-grade opioids placed users at exceptionally higher risk of overdose.

The crisis continues today, honourable senators. Substance use has consistently risen over the past decade, and with it we have seen a rise in incidents with police, arrests and charges. Today it has reached a critical point, in large part due to the lockdown restrictions and forced isolation measures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, from January to September 2020, there were 4,395 overdoses compared with 3,831 in all of 2019. A report from Public Health Ontario found that 695 people in Ontario died of a confirmed or suspected opioid-related death in the first 15 weeks of the pandemic alone, a 38% increase compared to the 15 weeks before the pandemic.

As we saw with cannabis, it’s clear that the war on drugs approach is not working. Rather, a harm-reduction approach is needed. I should note that there have already been isolated attempts to address the crisis using public health measures through the development of safe injection sites and policies of safe drug supply. These are important measures that are saving lives, but they are not enough. It’s clear that a comprehensive strategy including all levels of government and all relevant stakeholders will be required to effectively address this crisis. A comprehensive strategy is what Senator Boniface is recommending.

Honourable senators, I approach this issue with the same lenses I used with Bill C-45, those of health, social policy and social justice. I’ve already discussed the health lens; the proliferation of dangerous opiates in street drugs increases the risk to users’ health and a chance of overdosing. From a social lens, the opioid crisis is having a devastating impact on individuals and communities. Poverty, lack of secure housing, poor mental health and substance abuse issues are only some of the social determinants that can increase the risk of an individual using harmful substances.

A recent survey from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health found that 47% of respondents had increased their use of psychoactive substances during COVID-19, and 38% said they believed that they were more at risk to overdose due to supply disruptions. Furthermore, 7% stated that they had relapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers estimate that one of the factors in relapse is the amount of time spent alone and isolated while under pandemic restrictions. The unaccompanied use of drugs also increases the risk of overdose. In addition, there is still a strong sense of stigma associated with substance abuse disorders, and individuals are often unwilling or unable to get help.

From a justice lens, criminalization for possession of illegal substances carries significant harms for the user and for their family. Incarceration can have serious consequences for an individual’s prospects and their ability to rejoin society and obtain employment. Treating a substance use disorder as a legal issue rather than a public health issue will not allow the individual to get the help they need, and it places significant strain on law enforcement services. Most importantly, we know that criminalization has not reduced the number of arrests for possession of illegal substances. Indeed, the opposite has occurred. In particular, arrests for possession of methamphetamine and heroin have increased over the past decade, while substance use incidents in general also have steadily increased. As we have seen time and time again, criminalization is not an effective deterrent to using illegal substances.

It’s clear that a new approach is needed, and I believe that Bill S-229 strikes the right balance. The bill would mandate the Minister of Health to create a national strategy for decriminalization of simple possession of illegal substances, and it would repeal provisions of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that relate to these charges. The bill would ensure that decriminalization takes place while giving ample time to the relevant stakeholders to put support mechanisms in place to prepare for it.

Honourable senators, a national strategy would ensure that governments at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels are collaborating on this important public health issue. In addition, consultation would be required with health experts, the police, Indigenous communities, relevant organizations, regulatory bodies and individuals with substance use disorders. This would ensure that the strategy would be comprehensive providing policy-makers with a good understanding of the public health measures needed to properly address the crisis beyond just decriminalizing illegal substances.

Speaking of decriminalization, let’s be clear what this means. According to the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, decriminalization consists of non-criminal responses such as fines and warnings for designated activities such as possession of small quantities of a controlled substance. Furthermore, the CCSA states that:

Decriminalization aims to decrease harm by removing mandatory criminal sanctions, often replacing them with responses that promote access to education and to harm reduction and treatment services. It is not a single approach or intervention; rather it describes a range of principles, policies and practices that can be implemented in various ways.

Colleagues, it is this sort of sophistication and integrated approach that Senator Boniface foresees in this foresightful bill.

Some senators may fear that decriminalization would encourage use, but it’s important to remember that this is not condoning the use of hard drugs, but rather ensuring the response is not one of punishment but of compassion.

Decriminalization is also supported by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police who tell us that:

The evidence suggests, and numerous Canadian health leaders support, decriminalization for simple possession as an effective way to reduce the public health and public safety harms associated with substance use.

In their July 2020 report, they concluded that decriminalization should be a key component in responding to the opioid crisis, but also that it is one of a number of policy tools already being implemented across the country, including safe injection sites, safe supply and diversion programs. The report states that:

In a decriminalized environment, frontline policing would likely assume increased responsibility to divert people . . . from substance use disorder into treatment.

The CACP also makes it clear that decriminalization should not be a stand-alone policy, but that there must be support systems in place such as addiction treatment programs that will operate as alternatives to incarceration.

Furthermore, as Senator Boniface told us, the report also emphasized that treatment facilities are established and operational before decriminalization takes effect. This is the way the bill is designed. Because of this, the bill requires that decriminalization comes into force on a day determined by the Governor-in-Council. Senators, this is why the national strategy is a key component of this bill. It will ensure that policy-makers can lay the groundwork for those support systems in order to develop a successful decriminalization model.

Finally, senators may wonder why this bill is necessary when the government introduced Bill C-22 just recently. That bill would repeal minimum penalties for certain drug offences, but would also require police and prosecutors to consider alternatives to laying charges in simple possession cases such as a diversion to addiction treatment programs. So why is Bill S-229 necessary?

Bill C-22 would leave the decision to charge and prosecute possession of illegal substances in the hands of police and prosecutors. It would also give the courts leeway to use conditional sentence orders in a case where an individual is not a public safety threat.

As the CACP makes clear, there is an urgent need for decriminalization but also for treatment programs and support services that will properly address the crisis. Bill S-229 would ensure that the national strategy determines the best way forward for Canada.

Advocates have also been clear that decriminalization is the most effective way to ensure that individuals are not being criminalized for substance use, and the discretionary nature of Bill C-22 does not go far enough.

Honourable colleagues, I hope you will join me in supporting Bill S-229. This is a bill driven by data, and that was shared with us comprehensively by Senator Boniface. I’ve cited some data as well. It’s an approach that recognizes the need for a phased and a multi-layered approach to a complex health and social crisis and it eschews any sense of there being a quick or easy fix here. And isn’t it our instinct that there isn’t a quick and easy fix to this? It is complex, thorny and requires a comprehensive approach and that’s the approach laid out in the bill before us.

The opioid crisis has reached a breaking point. The statistics are shocking. It’s going to take time to put in place processes, mechanisms and funding to give life to this sophisticated proposal, but the sooner we start the process, the better. The sooner we start it, the more lives will be spared and more families will keep their loved ones. Let’s get this moving as soon as we can with a strong message of support. Thank you.

Thank you, senator. You have described a situation that is unfolding across this country in small and large cities. It is affecting families, both rich and poor and middle income. We are not going to solve it with the current processes that are in place. Your question is a really good one. I would suggest that the only way we’re going to address this, to tackle it, is by introducing the sort of multi-faceted approach that Senator Boniface and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police are recommending to us.

It seems to me — and it struck me the other day — that we not only have the Canadian Association Chiefs of Police, but also three former chiefs of police in our Senate, advocating for this.

Thank you, Your Honour.