By Jon Hiltz
On April 13 of this year, the Canadian federal government introduced legislation that will eventually end cannabis prohibition in Canada.
This historic move based on a campaign promise made by Prime Minister Trudeau in 2015 has been lauded as revolutionary and criticized for being too restrictive.
One reality of this legislation is the long leash that has been given to the individual provinces to establish a framework for legal cannabis that works within the guidelines of their borders. This is no easy task, given that each province is quite unique in its own way. That includes culture, social norms, laws regarding the consumption of adult products, and many other technical complications that can and will arise when discussing marijuana from coast to coast.
The stress from these tasks is evident in a recent article from Global News, which shows that various provinces across the country are vocally protesting the amount of work involved. Concerns have also arisen in regards to the short timelines as the country approaches its projected legalization end date of July 2018.
Marijuana.com contacted the various premiers across the Great White North to get their take on how legalization efforts are going, and to see if there is too much on their plate for this particular issue.
Ontario’s Provincial Marijuana Regulations
The Ontario government didn’t directly comment on any specific issues with the feds over the task at hand, but they did at least give a statement as to the progress they have made.
“We are reviewing this bill in detail and determining how it will impact our province and local municipalities,” said Emilie Smith, Spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General. “Since the federal government made its commitment to legalize and regulate cannabis, we have established a dedicated secretariat that leads and coordinates the province’s efforts through cross-government working groups focused on policy and program development. Ontario is currently assessing all policy options and no decisions have been made.”
Smith added that the Province of Ontario has an open line of communication with the feds as well as other provinces to determine what the best framework should be. “Ontario will continue to work with the federal government to develop a responsible approach that aligns with the federal legislative framework, and collaborate with other provinces, including Quebec, to share best practices and information.”
Règlement Provincial de la Marijuana du Québec
Speaking of “nos amis” in our French province of Quebec, we expected a vocal response on this issue, but instead, they chose the “if you have nothing nice to say” approach.
“We will not comment for the moment, thank you,” said Bianca Boutin who is the Press Officer for the Office of the Minister for Rehabilitation, Youth Protection, Public Health And Healthy Habits.
Nova Scotia’s Provincial Marijuana Regulations
Going further East into the Atlantic Provinces, Nova Scotia commented about the task at hand. “Premier McNeil has said Nova Scotia will meet the timeline set out by the federal government,” said the Spokesperson for the premier, David Jackson.
“Provincial officials have talked with their counterparts in other provinces about the issue, and it has been discussed at a meeting of the Atlantic premiers. Premier McNeil has said he’d like to see a common approach taken by the Atlantic provinces. He’s also said the prevention of cannabis-impaired driving will be a priority.”
Alberta’s Provincial Marijuana Regulations
Finally, out of all the provinces contacted, Alberta had the most to say on the issue.
“While we know there is a lot of work to do over the coming months, experts from across government have already been working to understand the issues surrounding cannabis legalization,” Veronica Jubinville, Spokesperson for Minister Kathleen Ganley.
“Before any decisions are made, we will be reaching out to engage with Albertans and various experts before we move forward to meet the ambitious timeline the federal legislation outlines.”
Out of all the necessary decisions to make, a minimum age requirement is something the government of Alberta is clearly exploring. The feds say the minimum age can be no lower than 18 years, but individual provinces can raise the age limit if they want to.
“Minimum age will be one topic we discuss with Albertans as we roll out our engagement process. Our government intends to make sure the views and values of Albertans are reflected in how we legalize. We expect to be reaching out to Albertans to hear from them on this topic in the coming weeks.”
The Alberta Government also had no qualms about costs at this point. “At this early stage in our preparations, any costs related to planning are being managed through existing budgets.”
Clearly, there is still time to prepare for the legalization of adult-use cannabis across Canada. But as the days pass, like it or not, the individual provinces will need to have a plan in place from top to bottom as a matter of necessity.
