Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Gargan on February 19, 1993, regarding the sobriety policy.
Mr. Gargan asked on February 28, 1993, that the Minister "direct his officials to make a report to other alcohol and drug organizations about the success of this important policy." The Minister at that time undertook to "share the success of this policy with our counterparts in southern Canada."
The policy related to sobriety for alcohol and drug workers has been in place for almost a year and a half. Provincial alcohol and drug commissions were advised of our policy during federal/provincial meetings in Newfoundland in May, 1992.
In order for the adequate assessment and evaluation of the sobriety clause policy to be carried out to effectively measure its success, a significantly longer period of time for the policy to be in place will be required. It would be appropriate to carry out an assessment and evaluation of its effectiveness in 1995, which would be five years after its implementation. In the meantime, I will be instructing officials in the department to monitor the impact of the policy on an ongoing basis. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.