Bill M213 — Drug Use Prevention Education in Schools Act (continued)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I want to close the debate on Bill 213 by returning to the simple, urgent truth that brought this bill forward. Our children are at risk. Our schools must do everything in their power to protect them. Now, we have heard a lot from the NDP MLAs talking about one word that shows up once in this bill: stigma. If the NDP MLAs really care about drug use prevention education in schools, what they can do today is pass this bill at second reading and send it to committee and make amendment. If that is not done, the public will see where the NDP MLAs stand. If they stand for drug use prevention education in this province or they don’t, that will be a clear message today. Also, this bill comes two weeks after the Premier made a statement out in public saying that the drug decriminalization policy is a wrong policy and that he was wrong in that aspect. So why not pass this bill, Drug Use Prevention Education in Schools Act, today? We are living through a drug crisis unlike anything British Columbia has seen ever before. More than 2,500 lives lost last year alone, seven deaths a day on average, families torn apart in every region of this province, children increasingly exposed to drug culture and mixed messages in the very schools that should keep them safe. For too long, the response from this government has been to normalize drug use. Harm reduction is emphasized while prevention and abstinence are sidelined. Flashcards, classroom materials and so-called safe supply messages soften the reality of drugs instead of confronting it. The line between compassion and permissiveness has been blurred, and our youth are paying the price. One of the central principles of this bill is the need to tell kids, educate kids, about the negative consequences of trying drugs. What are the social consequences? What are the health consequences? What are the consequences in terms of their relations with their families? And what are the legal consequences? Kids need to understand this stuff. We must once again send a clear social and cultural signal that drug use is harmful, dangerous and unacceptable. Schools also have a duty. Schools have an ethical duty. Schools are more than just places of academic instruction. They are institutions of character, health and responsibility. They have a public health duty and a moral duty to protect the children in their care and promote good public health. That duty requires schools to send one consistent, unambiguous message: drugs are dangerous; abstinence is the safest and responsible choice. Parents expect it, teachers deserve the clarity to deliver it, and children’s lives depend on it. Prevention is not just one option amongst many. It is the only safe choice. It is both an effective strategy, because it prevents harm before it happens, and an ethical one, because it is the only position that does not expose children to avoidable risk. By teaching drug prevention clearly, directly and consistently, we give young children the knowledge and confidence to say no. We also give parents reassurance that schools are supporting, not undermining, the values taught at home. In conclusion, Bill M213 is not complicated. It is rooted in common sense. It is about protecting children, restoring moral clarity and reinforcing the duty of schools to safeguard our youth. It is about telling the truth in plain language. Drugs kill, drugs devastate, and abstinence is the only safe choice. Prevention saves lives. This House has a duty to stand on the side of prevention, on the side of abstinence, on the side of families who are demanding action. I urge all members across party lines to support this bill.

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