Senate committee supports amending cannabis bill to let provinces ban homegrown pot

Under C-45, individuals would be allowed to grow up to five plants in a single dwelling.

But Quebec and Manitoba have decided to prohibit home cultivation, setting up future legal challenges in which Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould has said the federal legislation would prevail.

The Senate committee, which conducted a clause-by-clause examination of the bill Monday, unanimously supported an amendment specifying that provincial and territorial governments have the authority to prohibit homegrown pot if they so choose. Dean was among those supporting the amendment, again suggesting the government is willing to go along with the change.

However, the committee rejected, by a vote of 7-5, another amendment proposed by Conservative Sen. Judith Seidman that would have imposed a blanket prohibition on home growing across the country.

Quebec and Manitoba have decided to prohibit home cultivation of marijuana.  (STEVE HELBER / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO)

It similarly rejected an amendment proposed by Conservative Sen. Dennis Patterson, which would have delayed implementation of the bill until the government reports to the House of Commons and the Senate on what it’s doing to address the concerns of Indigenous communities.

None of the independent or independent Liberal senators on the committee supported either of those two Conservative amendments, which could bode well for the government in ensuring the bill is ultimately passed by the Senate. The 32 Conservative senators have voted as a block against the bill at every opportunity so far but they’d need at least 15 other senators to join them on the final vote to defeat or delay it.

Patterson made an impassioned plea for delaying implementation, arguing that the government’s consultation with Indigenous people thus far has been “abysmal.” Moreover, First Nations governments will bear the impact of legalization on health, social and policing services, but he noted they have not so far been offered a share of the federal excise tax on cannabis to cover those costs.

“This is a terribly vulnerable population,” he told the committee, noting that Indigenous communities are already struggling with severe alcohol and drug abuse problems, mental health issues and a suicide epidemic — all of which he suggested will get worse if cannabis is readily and legally available.

Patterson’s amendment did not go quite as far as the Senate’s Aboriginal people’s committee, which had recommended a delay of up to a year to enable more consultation with Indigenous communities. He put no timeline on his proposal for a government report on how it’s addressing Aboriginal concerns and argued that the government could pull one together within a month if it wanted.

Independent Sen. Marc Gold said no one disagrees with the challenges facing Indigenous communities, but said he’s encouraged that the government is already taking steps to address them. Indigenous people are overrepresented in the criminal justice systems and delaying implementation of a legalized cannabis regime will only exacerbate the problem, he argued.

Liberal MP Bill Blair, the government’s point man on cannabis legalization, told the committee just prior to its clause-by-clause examination of the bill that some Indigenous communities want to get involved in the lucrative business of producing legal marijuana and the government has developed a guide to help them navigate the licensing process.

The government has also provided funding for culturally appropriate public education about the risks of using cannabis and for improved delivery of addiction, prevention and treatment services in Indigenous communities, he said.

Blair also told committee members that Bill C-45 is comprehensive, “thoughtfully designed” legislation that strikes a careful balance among diverse perspectives.

But Conservative Sen. Carolyn Stewart Olsen questioned that assertion, given the number of amendments proposed by Dean to correct “flaws” in the drafting of the bill.

“I don’t see that that is thoughtful or well designed,” she said.

Other amendments passed by the committee include those that would:

• Require regulations that flow from the legislation to impose a maximum potency limit on cannabis products.
• Give the House of Commons and Senate 30 days to review regulations before they’re implemented.
• Specifying that a permanent resident who is sentenced to six months or less for breaking the cannabis law would not face an additional penalty of being found inadmissible to Canada and deported.

Original Article – The Star