Bring Our Loved Ones Home Addiction-Free
Plus touring residents of Calgary Shepard in Parliament, attending the National Prayer Breakfast, Conservative motion on the second carbon tax, and more
Bring Our Loved Ones Home Addiction-Free
Canadians are suffering. Cost-of-living has skyrocketed, housing prices have doubled, and violent crime is up 32% since 2015. The country feels broken. Nowhere is this felt more potently than the opioid overdose crisis, which has expanded drastically in the last several years and ravaged communities. The Liberal government’s policy to solve the opioid crisis is their much-touted, so-called “safe supply” program. Their claim is that by providing people with addictions with government-funded drug substitutes for opioids that may be tainted, overdoses would reduce and they would save lives. They’ve acted on it. The Prime Minister spent $78 million on 28 projects giving out free drugs. Budget 2023 proposes another $100 million for more tax-funded hard drugs. This includes heroin dispensary machines, where people can walk up, press some buttons and heroin pops out.
The results? Canada’s opioid crisis has killed over 35,000 people since 2016 and hospitalized a further 33,000 people. There were a total of 5,360 apparent opioid overdose deaths that occurred from January to September 2022, approximating 20 deaths per day. It is a 173% increase from 2016, the first full calendar year the Prime Minister was in office. In British Columbia, where all three levels of government strongly backed the so-called “safe supply” program, the levels of overdose deaths have been the highest. Across B.C., the number of overdose deaths is up 330%.
What the Liberal government is doing is not working. Despite that, they even doubled down further when they announced a three-year “trial” to decriminalize possession of hard drugs including opioids, cocaine, and hallucinogenic substances. We do not have to look far for examples to see how much this policy has failed everyday people. So-called “safe supply” was an experiment in Portland, Oregon in 2020, where the state became the first to decriminalize possession of hard drugs in an attempt to promote public safety and health. Less than two years later, overdoses skyrocketed and deaths rose by over 33% the year after the policy was introduced, compared with just 15% for the rest of the United States.
The Liberals could have learnt from our province of Alberta. We chose a different path than NDP-led British Columbia, choosing to focus on addiction treatment rather than safe supply. Alberta’s recovery-oriented approach includes residential addiction treatment across the province, narcotic transition services to help Canadians reduce opioid reliance, and other therapies. Alberta spent over $140 million to fund more than 8,000 new annual treatment, detox and recovery spaces, including therapeutic communities. Six communities are being built across Alberta, including in Edmonton and Calgary, while recovery communities in Red Deer, Lethbridge, and Gunn are scheduled to open this year. Addiction treatment is free for any Albertan, and voluntary. A further $275 million has been announced this year by the Alberta government. The results here? 50% fewer drug deaths in 2022, hospitalizations have reduced by 33%, and the number of ambulance visits have reduced by 39%. Alberta’s recovery-oriented approach is working.
It’s time the Liberal government acknowledge that their approach has failed. It has put more drugs on our streets, leading to more addictions, more deaths and more despair. Conservatives proposed a common-sense motion calling upon the government to immediately reverse its deadly policies and redirect all funds from taxpayer-funded, hard drug programs to addiction, treatment and recovery programs. The NDP-Liberal coalition voted it down, choosing to continue down their path of so called safe supply programs.
Persons struggling with addiction deserve compassion, treatment, and support. They do not deserve policies that make treatment more difficult and leave them further away from the help and support they need. The Conservative common-sense plan will end taxpayer dollars for drugs and put people in recovery. Conservatives will bring our loved ones home drug-free. Hope is possible and hope is on the way.
Touring Residents of Calgary Shepard through Parliament
Residents of Calgary Shepard are at the forefront of my mind in my role as a parliamentarian. I’m always happy to give a tour to constituents who are in Ottawa to visit their Parliament. Welcome to Darlene, Cheryl, and Colleen to your parliament and hope you enjoyed holding the ceremonial mace used every day to open the session. What a treat!
Attending the National Prayer Breakfast
On May 30th, I had the privilege of attending the 2023 National Prayer Breakfast in Ottawa. The 58th of its kind, it is the longest running interfaith breakfast in Canada and brings together representatives of all national political parties represented in Parliament. This year’s event was attended by both the Prime Minister of Canada and the Leader of the Official Opposition, and presented parliamentarians with an opportunity to reflect on the importance of servant leadership in our country.
Conservative Opposition Motion to Cancel Carbon Tax 2.0
In my past newsletters, I’ve said time and time again that I will always oppose tax increases that hurt the bottom line of Canadians. There is a major cost-of-living crisis in Canada today, where grocery bills, housing prices, and other goods have skyrocketed under the NDP-Liberal coalition. The inflationary carbon tax introduced in 2019 has done nothing to help this problem. Instead, it has further increased unaffordability. If that was not bad enough, there is now a second carbon tax that will further hike the price of gas, heat and groceries. The NDP-Liberal coalition have introduced the Clean Fuel Standard, a hidden tax that will cost the average Canadian household an extra $573 per year without any rebate, with families in Alberta facing costs as high as $1,157. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, this second carbon tax will cost Canadian families up to $4000 each year. This tax will also shrink our economy.
Conservatives put forward a motion on Thursday calling on the federal government to acknowledge the failures of the first Liberal carbon tax and immediately cancel their second carbon tax. Conservatives will axe these taxes and bring home a lower cost-of-living for Canadians. We will protect our environment through technology, not taxes.
Meeting with Hong Kong Watch
This week, I met with Benedict Rogers and Aileen Calverley from Hong Kong Watch. Together, they represent Hong Kongers across the world who are fleeing the once thriving island city known for its vibrant democracy and long-time defense of basic freedoms. The group has long fought against the increasing persecution and intimidation of Canadians of Hong Kong origin by agents working for the People’s Republic of China. They recently announced the opening of the new Canada chapter of the organization, including Canadian parliamentarians as patrons of the chapter. We discussed continued efforts to provide a lifeline to Hong Kongers fleeing communist persecution and their long-term resettlement, as well as assuring the success of Hong Kongers who are newcomers to Canada. Canada has a close connection to Hong Kong with the Royal Rifles of Canada and the Winnipeg Grenadiers serving in the unsuccessful defense of Hong Kong in 1941. Thousands of soldiers were killed in the battle and Canada lost its most senior combat death with Brigadier General John K. Lawson killed in action. We have a special relationship with the people of Hong Kong forged from that experience in World War II and the hundreds of thousands of dual citizens who still reside in the island city.
