QUESTION PERIOD — Health
Supervised Consumption Sites
March 26, 2026
Government leader, a new peer-reviewed study published in the journal Addiction has confirmed what Conservatives have been raising for years: Supervised consumption sites are not the solution for Canadians struggling with addiction.
The study found that the closure of such sites did not lead to an increase in medical emergencies or deaths. In fact, it found that closures were associated with more individuals seeking addiction treatment.
For decades, Liberals have supported this policy despite spiking drug use and overdose deaths across the country. Leader, in light of this evidence, is your government prepared to re‑evaluate its position on supervised consumption sites?
Speaking generally, the government is committed to working with provinces across the country to support communities with responsive programs that support public health and safety with respect to the issue that you raise today.
It is an important issue, and the government wants to work with provinces to ensure we find solutions to this situation.
Senator Moreau, in my home province of British Columbia alone, more than 18,000 lives have been lost to drug overdoses over the past decade, and since 2016, unregulated drug toxicity has remained the leading cause of unnatural death, creating an ongoing public health emergency.
Leader, these sites cannot operate without explicit authority from your government. Will you listen to the science and commit to Canadians that no more sites will be authorized to operate in the future?
Senator Martin, you raise a very important issue. Yesterday, we had the health minister here in this chamber, and she committed herself and the government as a whole to working with provinces to find solutions to this very important situation.
