Ms Fiona Wilson:

In British Columbia, fentanyl has been the leading cause of illicit toxic drug deaths for a number of years now. We knew fentanyl was one of the drugs that would be part of the exemption. I would not change that. There is a lot about the exemption itself I would change and the roll-out of it. Perhaps this is a good time for me to throw in another comment about moving forward. Fentanyl is absolutely devastating on our communities. It is the number one drug that is found to be the leading cause of death in illicit toxic drug deaths in this province. As I mentioned earlier, we average seven per day. It is incredible. There is one thing I encourage this committee to do.

It may not be something the committee is contemplating when it is thinking about decriminalisation, but I cannot overstate how important the enforcement piece is in trying to keep fentanyl out of Irish communities. I am aware that fentanyl is not a drug that is necessarily very prevalent in Ireland. We produce more fentanyl in British Columbia than there is a need or an ask for. Fentanyl was the game-changer for us here in Vancouver. It is what led to the crisis we have found ourselves in today. Some of those present have been to Vancouver and driven in the downtown east side. I cannot describe the impact fentanyl has had on communities. I walked the beat in the downtown east side when crack cocaine was prevalent and really sweeping our streets, but fentanyl is in a different stratosphere. It is just devastating. I strongly encourage the committee to consider how it can support enforcement efforts with respect to importation, detection, tracking, tracing and dismantling of any production facilities with respect to fentanyl in Irish communities.