On Monday, Bill C-2 or the ‘Respect for Communities Act’ is coming before the House of Commons for a vote. Bill C-2 will set up excessive and unattainable barriers for community and health agencies that are hoping to open supervised consumption services for people who use drugs. Supervised consumption services have proven to increase access to essential services such as health, treatment, and social services for marginalized groups and reduce the harm on local communities. We believe safer communities go hand in hand with easier access to health services, rather than furthering the distance between vulnerable populations and these critical services! Put health, harm reduction and the well-being of our communities first: take action against Bill C-2.
1. Contact the federal party leaders, Minister of Health and Health Critics
Tweet, email, or call your MP to let them know why they should oppose Bill C-2 (find some suggested tweets below). You can also direct your MP to the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network’s (@aidslaw) critical analysis of the bill, An Injection of Reason: http://bit.ly/injectionofreason.
Stephen Harper Thomas Mulcair
Prime Minister of Canada Leader of the New Democratic Party
@PMHarper @ThomasMulcair
stephen.harper@parl.gc.ca thomas.mulcair@parl.gc.ca
1-613-992-4211 1-613-995-7224
Justin Trudeau Elizabeth May
Leader of the Liberal Party Leader of the Green Party
@JustinTrudeau @ElizabethMay
justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca Elizabeth.May@parl.gc.ca
1-613-995-8872 1-613-996-1119
Rona Ambrose Murray Rankin
Health Minister NDP Health Critic
@MinRonaAmbrose @MurrayRankin
rona.ambrose@parl.gc.ca Murray.Rankin@parl.gc.ca
1-613-996-9778 1-613-996-2358
Hedy Fry
Liberal Health Critic
@HedyFry
Hedy.Fry@parl.gc.ca
1-613-992-3213
In addition to the politicians mentioned above, click here to find your local MP and send them your message!
Suggested tweets:
@JustinTrudeau You recently spoke in favour of safe injection sites. If it passes, #BillC2 will obstruct them #drugpolicyfail #cdnpoli
@ThomasMulcair Your MPs have spoken in Parliament in favour of safe injection sites. #BillC2 would obstruct them #drugpolicyfail #cdnpoli
Don’t harm the health of people in my communities. Read why #BillC2 is an outrage http://bit.ly/injectionofreason #drugpolicyfail #cdnpoli
Put harm reduction + the well-being of our communities first. Vote against #BillC2 http://bit.ly/injectionofreason #cdnpoli #drugpolicyfail
@PMHarper @MinRonaAmbrose Supreme Court said safe injection sites save lives, but your #BillC2 would obstruct them #drugpolicyfail #cdnpoli
2. Share CDPC’s #DrugPolicyAbuse videos
Encourage Canadians to share the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition’s (@CANdrugpolicy) #DrugPolicyAbuse video (from their #DrugPolicyAbuse campaign).
Suggested tweets:
Does your politician have a drug policy abuse problem? Speak out against #BillC2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX5iFRD49m8 #cdnpoli #drugpolicyfail
Here are some signs your politician may have a drug policy abuse problem. Stop #BillC2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX5iFRD49m8 #cdnpoli #drugpolicyfail
3. #DrugPolicyFail
Keep the conversation going on why drug policy is failing in Canada and why Bill C-2 is only making things worse by using the #drugpolicyfail hashtag (along with #cdnpoli and #BillC2).
Suggested tweets:
Here’s why #Canada is no longer a leader in global drug policy: http://bit.ly/cssdp-cdpc #drugpolicyfail
#BillC2 undermines the rights of people who use drugs to access harm reduction services like @InsiteVan, which saves lives #drugpolicyfail
If #BillC2 passes it’ll be harder to open safe injection sites, a harm reduction measure proven to work #drugpolicyfail #cdnpoli