This is an ongoing, bi-weekly series by the Osoyoos Times putting questions to the candidates in the 2019 federal election in October.
This week’s question:
What is your plan for the future of recreational cannabis legislation enacted under the current government?
Richard Cannings, New Democratic Party
Cannabis has been legal now for almost a year, but there are many loose ends to the issue.
Almost half of the Canadians who use cannabis are still buying it from black market sources. They’re doing this because of availability, price, and trusted suppliers. If the government wants to put illegal suppliers out of business and maximize tax revenues, they will have to address these issues.
About a half million Canadians are living with criminal records because of convictions on charges of possession of small amounts of cannabis – something that we now consider completely legal. These people have trouble renting homes, volunteering with children and crossing the border. The government has said they will provide pardons for these Canadians, but that will only partially fix their problems. An NDP government would expunge their records so they are not visible to any police officers or border guards, so that these people can get on with their lives.
And we need to invest in new research on the long-term health impacts of cannabis, particularly impacts on young people—a subject too long ignored while it was illegal. Canada is uniquely positioned in the world to take on this important task.
Connie Denesiuk, Liberal Party of Canada
As MP for the South Okanagan West Kootenay, I would be committed to continuing and improving the recreational cannabis policies of the Liberal government. Monitoring and remediating any emerging gaps in the law, continuing with education initiatives, enhancing public safety, and carefully rolling out the approved use of edible cannabis products are important priorities going forward.
Developed over three years, the existing framework for Canada’s cannabis legislation has put in place strict rules for controlling cannabis sale, possession, production and distribution, including measures to stop youth from accessing cannabis. Concurrently, government faced the complex task of replacing an existing illegal market with a new, tightly regulated supply chain.
Halting the illegal cannabis market was a principal goal of the new law. Statistics Canada has recently reported that in less than a year, 50 per cent of the illegal market has been displaced, while consumption has remained stable.
Funds generated from the legal sale of cannabis are funds removed from the hands of gangs and criminals. Of special importance to me as a long time advocate for youth is that while drug traffickers will sell to anyone, regulated government outlets require proof of age.
Recreational cannabis legislation is a long-awaited government measure that has shown positive results over the ten months since its implementation. I support this legislation, and its related provisions for a regulated system for reasonable access to medicinal cannabis.
Helena Konanz, Conservative Party of Canada
A Conservative government would not recriminalize cannabis.
Through my experience as a city councillor and regional district director, the roll out of Justin Trudeau’s cannabis legislation has been a nightmare for local governments and law enforcement. Our riding had to bear the immense cost of the confusion in the wake of legalization while awaiting the Liberal’s regulations. We saw illegal shops open up, and that took scarce police, bylaw and government resources to address.
The rollout was so haphazardly done by the Liberals that supply issues have kept many customers relying on unlicensed suppliers. There is also the problem that Justin Trudeau legalized marijuana without an effective test in place for roadside impairment testing.
The rollout of cannabis legalization was just another example of Justin Trudeau’s many failures.
Tara Howse, Green Party of Canada
As many know, the Green Party was the first federal party to advocate for the legalization of marijuana and will continue to support it. There has already been a demonstrable drop of illegally purchased marijuana. In the 2018 fourth quarter, legally purchased marijuana contributed $770 million to the GDP, all of which was heavily taxed.
Despite these positive economic results, the federally set price remains approximately 30 per cent above illegal cost. For those who are using marijuana for medical purposes, the excise tax is proving unaffordable as cannabis is rarely covered by insurance policies, if the patient is lucky enough to even have insurance.
To move forward, the Green Party promotes eliminating the excise tax for medicinal use and lowering the federally set price to reduce black-market activity. Also, the current framework makes it prohibitive for small, independent growers to enter the market and is designed to support large, factory-style industries that rely on huge energy outputs. The Green Party has always favoured local initiatives over mass production and would push for framework that allows opportunities for the independent grower to enter the market and drive economic competition.
Send your questions to [email protected] as we continue to curate and ask our candidates the questions that matter.
