Bill C-216

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, this is it. The Prime Minister has one last opportunity before we vote on Bill C-216. A national crisis requires federal leadership. There are moms, such as Irene and Angela, who are with us today, and the tens of thousands more across the country, who have lost loved ones to a poiso…

Government Orders

…ore. The government should have done more earlier today when it had the chance to vote on our bill, Bill C-216, which would have decriminalized personal possession of drugs. That would have helped to address systemic racism, because we know that Black Canadians and indigenous Canadians are overcharged and cha…

Government Orders

…st measures in Bill C-5 that would help address the opioid crisis, but the government just defeated Bill C-216, which would have decriminalized personal possession of drugs. The Prime Minister said earlier today that, in reference to the section 56 exemption for British Columbia, he would be prepared to work …

Government Orders

… that it is the right solution, for the same reason that we previously voted in favour of the NDP's Bill C-216 along the same lines. We need to work with these people and help them. They do not need jail time, they need help. Drug addiction is a health issue, not a criminal justice issue. We therefore applaud…

Government Orders

…is an easy question. I think all drugs should be decriminalized, and that is what we put forward in Bill C-216 today. If we actually look at the statistics on the mandatory minimums that are applied by judges, we see that most of them are for things like simple possession or trafficking to support people's ow…

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, at the conclusion of this stage of debate on Bill C-216, I first want to thank the members who have spoken today. Canadians deserve a debate on how to respond to a public health emergency that has been raging for more than six years and has cost more than…

Private Members' Business

…n the House to talk about the important bill introduced by my NDP colleague from Courtenay—Alberni, Bill C-216. COVID-19 took the lives of thousands of Canadians over the past two years, and we have devoted a lot of time and energy to helping those affected by the virus and preventing the loss of even more li…

Private Members' Business

…e deaths. People are dying from drug poisoning, and it does not have to be this way. The passage of Bill C-216 will save lives. It is within the power of every member of the House to show they value life without judgment and that they want to stop the overdose crisis in their communities. All they to have to …

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, it is an honour for me to rise today to join the debate on Bill C-216, an act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to enact the expungement of certain drug-related convictions act and the national strategy on substance use act. The sponsor of this priva…

Private Members' Business

… the idea of diverting people struggling with substance abuse away from the courts, we believe that Bill C-216 unfortunately misses the mark with respect to its main objective. Over the past few years, there has been a tendency to consider drug-related problems as public health issues rather than crime issues…