by Missy McLean - Cobourg, Ontario

The House of Commons is taking a summer break and MPs are heading back to their homes until September 19th, 2022 when the HoC resumes.

On June 1st, 2022, MP Philip Lawrence (Conservative), who represents the riding where I live in Ontario, voted NO to sending Bill C-216 to the Standing Committee on Health for further evaluation. This got me thinking; Lawrence should really be hitting summer school over the next couple of months to better educate himself on the national public health emergency that is the toxic drug and overdose crisis.

I decided to give MP Lawrence his first assignment: READ THE BOOK Overdose: Heartbreak and Hope in Canada's Opioid Crisis by Benjamin Perrin. I bought a copy and delivered it in person to his constituency office; while Lawrence was still in Ottawa, his chief of staff received it and my request for them both to read it this summer. I told him I'd be expecting their reports before they head back to session in the fall.

Author Ben Perrin was the lead justice and public safety advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper from 2012-2013. In other words, he was a strong proponent of the war on drugs in this country. Yet, after researching and writing his book, Perrin is now a passionate advocate for the same dramatic drug policy overhauls that Moms Stop the Harm is demanding. The vast majority of MPs in this country are not listening to us; perhaps they'll listen to a former colleague and peer.

In Overdose, Perrin investigates and shares answers to the same questions that so many MPs and opponents to sensible, life-saving drug policy pose to us:

Why do people start using illicit substances? Why can't they stop?
Don't supervised injection sites enable drug use?
Isn't providing "safe drugs" giving up on people?
Won't decriminalization make things worse?
How can we solve this crisis?

Drawing on his own behind-the-scenes interviews with those on the frontlines, including undercover police officers, intelligence analysts, border agents, prosecutors, healthcare professionals, Indigenous organizations, activists and people who use illicit drugs, Perrin lays out the evidence to answer each of these questions and more. The results, which will be unsurprising to all of us at MSTH who have already done our homework and learned by excruciating experience, lay bare the realities of what needs to be done: national safer supply, decriminalization, increased harm reduction programming and supplies, and more widely available and varied options for treatment.

None of us will get the summer off from our work to bring about an end to the failed war on drugs. The very least that MPs on our List of Shame (those who voted down Bill C-216) can do is engage with a well-written investigation of the ongoing toxic drug crisis and reflect on the impact of their choices.

Overdose is now widely available in a trade paperback format for $22; if enough members of MSTH want to send a copy to their MP, we can get a discounted bulk purchase rate through the publisher. If you'd like to send your MP to summer school, contact MSTH Board member Missy McLean at missyhopemclean@gmail.com.

If you do send a copy of the book to your MP or any other elected official in your community, please let us know! Take a photo of the book and the addressed envelope or of you delivering it in person and send via email to info@momsstoptheharm.com or share it on social media and tag @momsstoptheharm in your post.

Let's continue keeping these MPs accountable this summer!