OTTAWA - An NDP lawmaker is tabling legislation to decriminalize drug use in Canada, seeking to treat it as a health issue amid a lethal opioid crisis.
New Democrat health critic Don Daviesintroduced a private member’s bill Thursday that would scrap Criminal Code provisions on drug possession, expunge criminal records for the same offence and mandate low-barrier access to a safe supply of medically regulated substances.
The third wave is ravaging our communities, Moderna is cutting April vaccine deliveries in half, and the CMA is imploring the federal government to do more.
It's time for stronger federal leadership to deliver vaccines to Canadians.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner and NDP MP Don Davies, who are their respective parties’ health critics and sit on the committee, both expressed displeasure with the government’s unwillingness to meet the committee’s request so far.
“In my opinion, they’re clearly, clearly delaying,” Davies told iPolitics on Thursday.
NDP Health Critic, Don Davies, issued the following statement:
“Today’s report from the Auditor General of Canada is a scathing indictment of the federal government’s emergency preparedness and pandemic response.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is specifically mandated to be our country’s lead organization for planning and coordinating a national response to infectious diseases that pose a risk to public health. This report reveals they failed in this critical responsibility, detailing a litany of errors, omissions and mismanagement.
NDP MPs used part of today's debate to push for paid sick leave for workers. Vancouver MP Don Davies attempted to amend the motion to add language calling for 10 paid sick days for all federal workers. Conservatives rejected that amendment.
NDP MP Don Davies said his party “strongly supports” building up domestic manufacturing capacity but the party believes the federal government should be investing in public facilities rather than private companies.
In an interview last December, Davies said the opioid crisis is driven by a toxic street supply provided by organized crime, and that “the foundational answer to the problem is to decriminalize and regulate access to drugs across the country.”
NDP MP Don Davies said he personally supports medical assistance in dying "but I also know a flawed bill when I see one."
He noted that disability rights groups have condemned the bill, arguing that it devalues the lives of people with disabilities who may be pressured -- either directly or indirectly through societal attitudes and a lack of support services -- into ending their lives prematurely.
