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Petition
Presented March
11, 2008
To establish a long-term drug and alcohol addictions
treatment facility in the Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador.
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| In the House | Petitions
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise today to present a
petition on behalf of residents of Newfoundland and
Labrador. It is a petition that has been circulated
Province-wide, in reference to the drug and alcohol
addictions that exist in our Province.
I will read it for you,
Mr. Speaker, into the record, and I should note for the
House of Assembly that there are thousands of signatures
collected on these petitions and they will be presented
at different times in the House of Assembly over the
next period of time that we sit.
WHEREAS
Newfoundland and Labrador is currently lacking a
long-term drug and alcohol addictions treatment facility
for its residents;
WHEREUPON
the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call
upon the House of Assembly to establish a long-term drug
and alcohol addictions treatment facility in the
Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr. Speaker, the reason I
bring this petition to the House of Assembly is because
I support the people who are making this request. I
support them in their efforts, because I do know that
there are problems in our Province as it relates to drug
addictions, alcohol addictions, and other addictions as
well; but, Mr. Speaker, we do not have to look far to
see many examples of how drug addiction has increased in
communities right throughout the Province.
There is more need for
education around drug addictions and alcohol addictions
than I think we have ever seen before in our past, and
there is certainly a greater need for the services that
people depend upon, who are addicts.
Mr. Speaker, I was
looking in The Telegram a few days ago, when
there was an article there regarding drugs, and the
growing problem with drugs in our Province. I think the
drug market in the Province has become so big at this
stage that the RNC has even announced that they will
have to double up the enforcement officers they have
working to combat the drug problem in the city in
particular.
Mr. Speaker, those kinds
of announcements become alarming, and it is a
realization that it is not a problem that will go away.
It is not something that we can brush under a rug and
forget about, but it is actually something we need to
take action on.
Mr. Speaker, the Chief of
the RNC, Joe Browne, has said that drug use has gotten
so widespread that buying drugs on the street is almost
like buying coffee.
Mr. Speaker, I do not
think the Chief of Police is exaggerating his comments.
I think his remarks are founded on his own experiences,
and founded on the kind of drug busts and arrests that
they have been making through the RNC.
Mr. Speaker, back a few
years ago the RNC made a statement that they thought 80
per cent of all of the crime in the Province was drug
related. Today they are making a statement that 90 per
cent of all of the crime in the Province, or in this
area that they serve, is drug related, and those are
very alarming numbers as well.
Those people who are out
there identifying the need for a long-term treatment
facility for drug addicts and alcoholism are people who
are either affected by it directly or indirectly.
We all know that any time
there is a person in our families or in our households
who develops problems with addiction, it affects the
entire family unit. It affects everyone. So, Mr.
Speaker, these people are identifying the need based on
their own experiences, based on the fact that they have
had a brother or sister, a mother or father, who have
been affected.
Mr. Speaker, I know that
my time is nearly concluded. I do have a number of these
petitions that I will present over the next few days in
the House of Assembly, and I hope that hon. members will
be prepared to listen and to support the pleas of the
people who are petitioning us. |
