Police block access to a drug lab discovered in Toronto earlier this year. (Tony Smyth/CBC)

Exposing a child to the production and trafficking of illegal drugs would be an offence in Ontario, if an opposition member has his way.

Progressive Conservative Garfield Dunlop said he'll introduce a private member's bill next Monday to help police and child protection workers come to the aid of such children.

The bill would make it a separate offence to "drug endanger" a child. It would establish drug-endangered children as a category in need of protection. It would also add drug endangerment as a form of child abuse under the Child and Family Services Act, Dunlop said Wednesday.

Endangerment would include exposing a child to the manufacturing or production of an illegal drug, as well as any substance that is used to make illegal drugs, he said.

Law enforcement agencies are also backing the bill. Police and child protection workers already have the power to remove kids from homes where drugs are being produced. When the situation improves, the children are returned.

"There's no penalty, or there is no reason for the parents not to do it again, because they're not held accountable," said Supt. Wayne Kalinski of York Regional Police.

Powers may exist already to remove kids from grow-ops and meth labs, but the proposed amendments would add another layer of protection for kids, particularly those who are exposed to drug trafficking in their homes, said Supt. Ron Taverner of the Toronto Police Service.

"This isn't about partisanship, it's about protecting children, which has no political bounds," said Taverner, who also serves as chair of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.

"Drug-endangered children across Ontario are facing many health and safety threats, but also many obstacles to growing up with a chance at a normal life.

"That's something that we should all be concerned about."

Kids who end up living in meth labs and marijuana grow-ops can be exposed to toxic chemicals, potential fire hazards, violent crime, as well as physical and even sexual abuse, he said.

Vulnerable children are also exploited as props in so-called "crop sitter" families, Taverner said.

"When these children play on the front lawn of a marijuana grow operation, it helps to hide the reality of what's going on inside the homes," he said.

The association recommended the move almost a year ago, but the government has yet to take action, Dunlop said.