Marsi cho, Madam Speaker. Today, I want to talk about the adverse impact and influence which illicit drug trade is still having within our communities amid the ongoing global pandemic. Madam Speaker, another common theme that I've noticed in my constituency is the increase of crime, violent crime, and hard drug use within our communities. During the early stages of the pandemic, the federal government distributed CERB funding. I believe this was a mistake as many of our residents used these new funds to feed their addictions to new levels. All we've seen is many of our bootleggers, drug dealers, and even our liquor stores profit immensely from this influx of money. I know now the federal government had tightened up their rules surrounding allocations of money for those out of work during the pandemic, but there still needs to be clear rules about what these monies are meant for.

Madam Speaker, while there have been some minor wins this year in terms of successful drug busts executed across the country, the issue of illicit drugs plaguing our communities has remained unchanged. I know the bulk of our attention and focus on COVID-19 this year. However, we must remain vigilant against other harmful threats to our people, as well. Pandemic or not, people are still selling, getting addicted to, and dying from illegal drugs. Dying. We in this House need to get ahead of this.

Madam Speaker, according to the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse and Addiction, "people use substances report a loss of social connection and supports, as well as an increase in isolation, fear, and anxiety as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to the general population, they are more vulnerable to the health impacts of COVID-19 and the hardships of physical distancing."

Madam Speaker, they say it takes a village or a community to raise a child. In my opinion, it's going to take a village or a community to combat this huge problem of drugs in our communities. We cannot solely rely on our law enforcement community to tackle these by themselves. We need to work with the leadership at the local level to start fighting back at the distribution of drugs in our communities. We need to send a clear message to the drugs traffickers out there that their actions will not go unpunished. With that, Madam Speaker, I'll have questions for the Minister of Justice at the appropriate time. Marci cho.