(Montreal) The Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) has officially requested a mandate of initiative from the Health and Social Services Commission in the fight against date rape drugs.
The instigator of this initiative mandate, the spokesperson for the official opposition on public security, Jennifer Maccarone, believes that the use of date rape drugs is a scourge and claims to have met several young women who have been affected by it. victims.
Date rape drugs refer to substances administered without a person’s knowledge, such as GHB, particularly in a party setting, in bars and restaurants.
Last September, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government used its majority to block the creation of a national plan to combat date rape drugs, proposed by the PLQ, explaining that it had already announced eleven measures last June concerning these substances.
A few months before this refusal, the Liberal MP for Westmount–Saint-Louis had submitted a petition with 425 signatories who supported the implementation of such a plan.
Now the PLQ is turning to the Health and Social Services Commission to hold a parliamentary commission that would allow victims, experts and stakeholders in the bar community to look into the issue.
According to Mme Maccarone, the approach of summer is the perfect time to work hard. “Young people are starting to go out to bars more and more, it’s the end of the university session, the end of CEGEP, there are a lot of parties that will take place. » “So we found it important, especially today, to talk to young people, […] to make them aware of the issue and also to talk to the government regarding the work it has to do to equip our young people with protective measures,” she adds.
She considers that such measures are “seriously lacking” at present.
Insufficient measures, according to the PLQ
In June 2023, the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel announced the implementation of a series of measures linked to the fight against date rape drugs. An advertising campaign was notably launched and targeted men aged 18 to 35.
However, according to Mme Maccarone, this awareness campaign did not prove conclusive: “I guarantee you will find a [jeune] who is aware that there are 11 government actions to talk about raising awareness against date rape drugs, I haven’t found one.
The CAQ also launched the “Check your glass” pilot project by distributing 10,000 covers that protect glasses in Montreal bars, in collaboration with Éduc’alcool. Another insufficient measure, according to the Liberal MP.
“That’s not going to protect our young people from someone who wants to put GHB in their drink,” she maintains. She explains that several techniques can bypass the glass protector, such as putting the substance before the lid is removed or passing the substance through the straw.
Working hand in hand with the Order of Chemists
Among the eleven CAQ measures is also the establishment of an approval mechanism which ensured the effectiveness of rapid self-administered tests for the detection of GHB and other substances, in partnership with the federal government.
The PLQ, for its part, suggests turning to the Order of Chemists of Quebec to develop these products. Mme Maccarone maintains that this order has already signaled its interest and that Quebec has the necessary expertise to do so. She explains that at the moment, the tests are not adequate: “We don’t have anything 100% reliable, it could be a one in two chance,” she laments.
This is therefore the interest of holding a transpartisan parliamentary commission, which she sees as a lever to be able to “talk about a subject that affects all Quebecers”.
“After turning a deaf ear to a petition from hundreds of concerned citizens, I hope that the CAQ government will accept my request,” she says.
The Quebec Ministry of Public Security did not respond to requests for comment from The Canadian Press.