Bill C-45 (Historical)

Cannabis Act

An Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts

This enactment enacts the Cannabis Act to provide legal access to cannabis and to control and regulate its production, distribution and sale.
The objectives of the Act are to prevent young persons from accessing cannabis, to protect public health and public safety by establishing strict product safety and product quality requirements and to deter criminal activity by imposing serious criminal penalties for those operating outside the legal framework. The Act is also intended to reduce the burden on the criminal justice system in relation to cannabis.
The Act
(a) establishes criminal prohibitions such as the unlawful sale or distribution of cannabis, including its sale or distribution to young persons, and the unlawful possession, production, importation and exportation of cannabis;
(b) enables the Minister to authorize the possession, production, distribution, sale, importation and exportation of cannabis, as well as to suspend, amend or revoke those authorizations when warranted;
(c) authorizes persons to possess, sell or distribute cannabis if they are authorized to sell cannabis under a provincial Act that contains certain legislative measures;
(d) prohibits any promotion, packaging and labelling of cannabis that could be appealing to young persons or encourage its consumption, while allowing consumers to have access to information with which they can make informed decisions about the consumption of cannabis;
(e) provides for inspection powers, the authority to impose administrative monetary penalties and the ability to commence proceedings for certain offences by means of a ticket;
(f) includes mechanisms to deal with seized cannabis and other property;
(g) authorizes the Minister to make orders in relation to matters such as product recalls, the provision of information, the conduct of tests or studies, and the taking of measures to prevent non-compliance with the Act;
(h) permits the establishment of a cannabis tracking system for the purposes of the enforcement and administration of the Act;
(i) authorizes the Minister to fix, by order, fees related to the administration of the Act; and
(j) authorizes the Governor in Council to make regulations respecting such matters as quality, testing, composition, packaging and labelling of cannabis, security clearances and the collection and disclosure of information in respect of cannabis as well as to make regulations exempting certain persons or classes of cannabis from the application of the Act.
This enactment also amends the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to, among other things, increase the maximum penalties for certain offences and to authorize the Minister to engage persons having technical or specialized knowledge to provide advice. It repeals item 1 of Schedule II and makes consequential amendments to that Act as the result of that repeal.
In addition, it repeals Part XII.‍1 of the Criminal Code, which deals with instruments and literature for illicit drug use, and makes consequential amendments to that Act.
It amends the Non-smokers’ Health Act to prohibit the smoking and vaping of cannabis in federally regulated places and conveyances.
Finally, it makes consequential amendments to other Acts.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Of course. Thank you. I appreciate that.

Now I'm going to reverse it, because we heard some testimony this morning. Once we legalize cannabis possession in this country according to Bill C-45, it will no longer be a crime for adults in Canada to possess certain amounts of cannabis and to consume it. I'm concerned when those Canadian citizens go to the border with the United States and are asked by a U.S. border officer if they have ever taken drugs. That happens routinely, not convictions but they ask if you have used drugs. I've had Canadian citizens who have been denied entry to the U.S. for answering.

Has CBSA had any discussions with their counterparts on the U.S. side to work out an agreement so that Canadian citizens aren't placed in the awkward situation of either having to lie to U.S. border officials, which is wrong, or if they admit to doing what is perfectly legal in Canada, they run the risk of being denied entry into the U.S. Are you aware of any discussions in your department to resolve that issue with the American border authorities?

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

If it weren't a crime in Canada, if Bill C-45 passes, after July 2018 or whenever it passes it's no longer a crime in Canada to possess 30 grams of cannabis. If you have an American who was convicted in the past of possessing under 30 grams of cannabis, that would no longer be a crime in Canada. Would that be a barrier to them entering Canada at that point, it no longer being a crime here? It would still show up on their criminal record, right?

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Yes. Thank you.

To our CBSA colleagues, it's funny. This summer I think a lot of us, as MPs, were in our ridings and I know that I always have an experience with people having trouble crossing the border, both ways, Canadians who get turned away from the U.S. border and Americans trying to come into Canada who are turned away by CBSA.

In fact, I had two young gentlemen from Los Angeles who were turned away by CBSA because they had prior convictions. I've had cases where someone has been turned away for having an impaired driving, a “DUI” as they call them in the United States. How will CBSA treat Americans with cannabis possession convictions after Bill C-45 becomes law? Will that still be a ground for denying entry to an American citizen who wants to come into Canada?

[Inspector Martin Bruce, Organized Crime Section, Vancouver Police Department]

Good afternoon. I am Inspector Martin Bruce of the Vancouver Police organized crime section. With me is Staff Sergeant Bill Speam. Bill is the subject matter expert in investigations related to organized crime.

On behalf of Chief Adam Palmer, I would like to thank the honourable members of the committee for the opportunity to make a submission on Bill C-45. Being mindful of the committee's time, I will be brief.

The concerns of the Vancouver Police Department are very likely to be those echoed by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and other public safety partners. However, in the local context, our concerns fall into four main areas: access by youth, personal cultivation, the role of organized crime, and the implementation timeline.

With regard to access by youth, our view is that allowing 12 to 17-year-olds to possess or socially share up to five grams of marijuana will create issues when police need to interact in a number of settings where youth are present, but particularly in our schools. For example, what powers will our officers have to intervene and seize marijuana that's being offered to a vulnerable student by another youth, or to deal with any other nuisance calls involving youth effectively? We note that the proposed ticketing scheme will apply to those aged 18 years and over.

This possession ability combined with personal cultivation in the home appears to conflict with the government's stated objective to create a highly regulated environment that minimizes youth access to the drug.

With regard to personal cultivation, we oppose it and believe it will be a catalyst for overproduction that will flood the illicit market and effectively undermine the pricing structure and supply offered by the regulated regime. It will also bring with it the potential for home invasions, break and enters, robbery, theft of electricity, nuisances, and other calls for service that make communities less safe and further stretch police and other first responder resources that are already grappling with the opioid overdose crisis in this province and elsewhere.

The four-plant maximum will be impossible to effectively enforce and as the new act will be layered over existing medical marijuana regulations, it will be difficult for front-line officers to determine what authorities they have in the myriad of potential circumstances that will exist. Seizures later determined to be unlawful may leave police agencies liable for degraded marijuana stored over time that has to be returned to owners. Officers will also have the potential to be the subject of British Columbia Police Act complaints for misinterpretation of the various provisions.

As to the role of organized crime, if the pricing structure and availability of regulated marijuana isn't set at realistic levels, organized crime will take advantage in the same way they have done with illicit tobacco products. To meet any increase in demand, criminal elements will also have the potential to increase output especially in urban settings under the cloak of personal production and through a proliferation of residential marijuana grow operations.

With regard to the implementation timeline, the implementation of Bill C-45 leaves us with many unanswered questions, especially around where responsibilities will ultimately lay and around how and when that information will be conveyed. In the absence of that detail, we have concerns that the remaining timeline poses significant challenges with regard to the appropriate training and equipping of our members, amending our procedures, and potentially adapting our facilities.

Finally, we would seek assurances that funding will be in place for a comprehensive public education strategy, that it will be implemented well in advance of legalization, and that such a campaign will focus on the developmental harms associated with youth, other known harms linked to marijuana use, and the dangers associated with the impaired operation of motor vehicles.

Thank you again for providing us with this forum. We would be pleased to answer any questions the committee might have.

[Trevor Bhupsingh, Director General, Law Enforcement and Border Strategies Directorate, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Good afternoon, Chair, committee members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you from a law enforcement and public safety perspective regarding Bill C-45.

My name is Trevor Bhupsingh. I'm the director general of law enforcement and border strategies at Public Safety Canada. I'd like to briefly introduce my colleague, Jennifer Lutfallah, who is the director general for enforcement and intelligence programs at the Canada Border Services Agency.

My colleague and I are here today to answer your questions about our respective organizations' roles in relation to C-45.

The government has taken a balanced approach to the cannabis legalization and regulation. We are confident that the necessary law enforcement and public safety considerations are incorporated into the bill, and are informing the development of the regime that will be put in place to regulate cannabis.

Bill C-45 reflects the collaborative work that has been accomplished by Health Canada, the Department of Justice, Public Safety, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canada Border Services Agency, along with provincial and territorial governments and law enforcement stakeholders.

Public Safety Canada has taken a leadership role in working with law enforcement from across the country and with our international partners to ensure that the legalization and regulation of cannabis is accomplished through a public safety lens. In preparation for the cannabis task force work, Public Safety held a round table discussion on the legalization of cannabis with law enforcement and provincial and territorial government representatives. The discussions provided clear direction on elements and perspectives that required consideration and needed to be reflected in the proposed cannabis act and the legalization regime. This information was provided to the task force and helped guide their consultations with law enforcement, other stakeholders, and Canadians.

Law and border enforcement recognize that a legalized cannabis regime needs to protect public health and safety, particularly among youth. In this regard, Public Safety Canada and its partners, such as the RCMP and the CBSA, have focused on several key objectives in the development of the bill. First, the need to keep criminals and organized crime networks from infiltrating the legal cannabis market, strengthening laws to reduce the cannabis black market, and protecting youth.

Legalizing cannabis is a significant change in social norms, but what we know is that cannabis has been a very lucrative commodity for criminals. This too needs to change. The RCMP and law enforcement across the country can attest to the fact that organized crime has been heavily involved in the illicit cannabis market, making significant profits that are used to fund illegal activities. It has been estimated that there are up to 650 criminal organizations in Canada, and up to 50% of those have been identified as being involved in the illicit cannabis black market.

It's difficult to fully anticipate how organized crime and the illicit market will react once the cannabis regime comes into effect. Organized crime involvement and any commodity or activity can change as the supply and the demand shift and the opportunity for their profits are affected. However, much work is under way to keep cannabis profits out of the hands of organized crime. Public Safety Canada is supporting other federal departments that are leading discussions on cannabis taxation and pricing. These are important aspects that will help ensure that projected revenues from the production, distribution, and sale do not flow to organized crime.

As the new regime is built, requirements under the act, such as the criminal record checks for those who want to produce cannabis, will keep criminals presently operating in the illicit cannabis market from moving into the legal regime. RCMP, federal policing, and other Canadian law enforcement will continue to work nationally and with international partners to target organized crime and criminal networks. Public Safety Canada will support these efforts by monitoring change in the illegal drug market.

Regarding border security, the CBSA currently investigates and interdicts the unauthorized cross-border movement of cannabis at Canada's ports of entry while maintaining the free flow of legitimate travel and trade.

The new legislation will maintain the existing cross-border framework with respect to the illegal movement of cannabis. As such, the Canada Border Services Agency will continue to examine persons and shipments for cannabis at our ports of entry, pursuant to the Customs Act. The agency will also continue to work closely with law enforcement partners, such as the RCMP and local policing agencies, who are responsible for investigations pursuant to the new cannabis act.

It is important to note that the proposed cannabis act does not impede law enforcement's ability to target and dismantle cannabis operations. The bill sends a strong message about the seriousness of crimes that involve cannabis. For example, the maximum penalties for criminal offences under the proposed act for producing, distributing, selling, and importing and exporting cannabis can result in 14 years' imprisonment.

Another very important objective of the government is that Public Safety Canada and our law enforcement community will work to support protecting youth. The act clearly reflects the view that we want to keep cannabis out of the hands of youth by restricting access to cannabis and deterring unlawful activities with cannabis through appropriate sanctions and enforcement measures. This is why adults who use youth to commit a cannabis crime would face the same 14-year maximum penalties as those who illegally sell or traffic cannabis. Further, provinces and territories have the ability to establish their own provisions to prohibit persons possessing any amount of cannabis under the minimum age. This will also give police the authority to seize cannabis from youth, while not subjecting them to criminal prosecution for possessing or sharing very small amounts of cannabis.

The government has been clear that strictly regulating cannabis within the legalized framework is of the utmost importance. As such, a ticketing scheme is put forward under the proposed legislation. This would allow law enforcement to issue a criminal ticket to an individual 18 years or older for relatively minor violations of the rules set out in the act, including possession of cannabis beyond the legal limit of 30 grams but up to 50 grams, or five or six plants for home cultivation, and/or outside the prescribed restrictions. The penalty for these acts is a monetary fine of $200.

Public Safety Canada recognizes the degree of effort required to ensure the necessary public safeguards are in place as we move forward with the proposed cannabis legislation. We will continue to work with Health Canada and the Department of Justice on all aspects of the new regime, including licensing and compliance, and a robust public awareness campaign specifically targeting youth. We will be communicating the new law and enforcement regime to police and all Canadians through online training modules and by leveraging media and social media opportunities. Furthermore, we'll be undertaking continuous research, data collection, evaluation, and open dialogue across Canada with law enforcement stakeholders. We'll work to support law enforcement to implement and operationalize the new legislation.

The proposed new cannabis act will be an important piece of legislation from a law enforcement and public safety perspective.

Thank you. My colleague and I are happy to take questions.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Okay.

I have a question about the Constitution. The way I understand it, Bill C-45 will require all producers to apply to the federal government for a licence.

I come from British Columbia and I know that with beer there are a lot of small craft producers, and I believe they're regulated provincially. Are there any constitutional considerations? Let's say a local Saskatchewan producer just wants to grow and sell in Saskatchewan. Do you see any constitutional challenge there in terms of a usurpation of provincial jurisdiction over property and civil rights? Has that been discussed or thought of?

[Sébastien St. Louis]

This is not an industry that has been without faux pas. The licensed producers have had quality issues stemming from contamination around pesticides. What's more important to focus on is that we've been able to issue next-day recalls across the country. We've been able to protect consumers; we've been able to communicate with consumers and fix the process gaps that led to the contamination events.

As we keep moving forward, what we've seen in the industry is a system that works or is beginning to work; of course, none of the people involved—the stakeholders, the licensed producers—want to see pesticide or contamination events. We don't want to have quality issues. However, as we grow up in a fast-changing industry, these are things that have happened because of poor processes, and we have proof now that this system works. This is something we need to roll out in the future, as Bill C-45 contemplates; we need to continue that good, robust quality control that we've implemented on the medical side.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I'm not sure that's the case yet with Bill C-45, but we'll look at that.

To Mr. Tesarowski, first, is Saskatchewan going to be ready by July 1? Second, I think there was a suggestion from Mr. Ayoub, if I heard him correctly, that Saskatchewan's the only province that is expressing difficulty meeting that deadline. Are you aware of any other provinces that may struggle with the July 1, 2018 deadline?

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Is there a danger of having two different, parallel systems here? Under Bill C-45, in the recreational world, none of those are legal.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you for that, I think you've expressed the problem with the issue well. I've been told from many producers that, as you've said, we need product differentiation, enough information, not only to distinguish the product from the illegal market, but from within the legal market where there will be different products that will be produced by different producers with different characteristics. Then there's the need for sufficient information on the packaging so that the customer actually knows what it is they're taking and knows what it's for, and finally, as you said, to compete effectively with the illicit market where there will be no rules whatsoever on how they brand.

I'm going to turn to Mr. Lucas.

Do you have any feelings on that? I'm looking specifically for your views on what is currently in Bill C-45, contained in section 26, because it is a very narrow set of restrictions on the labelling and advertising right now. Again, I'd like your advice on whether you think it's too narrow.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Excellent. I have one more question.

When it comes to the bill, and talking about being able to promote cannabis, I see a real difference among people who are engaged in the medical marijuana industry, which is growing globally. Tilray has moved into my community with a facility that exports to five countries. I would think that, with a product, you do need to promote and brand and be free to do that on your web page and in other countries. It looks quite restrictive in Bill C-45, that this would not be allowed for medical marijuana producers. I can understand why we don't want to encourage that recreationally to make it look sexy or wonderful for younger people, but could you comment on whether you think that's limiting?

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Very good.

A question I have for Mr. Lucas has to do with possession limits. I think you said that, when it comes to people who are receiving medicinal marijuana, 78% of them are using less than three grams a day. Within Bill C-45 the limits for personal possession have been set at 30 grams, which would be 10 days of what I would consider fairly serious marijuana use. What do you think of those limits? Do you think those are reasonable for personal possession, or would you like to see those reduced?

[Colette Rivet, Executive Director, Cannabis Canada Association]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for inviting Cannabis Canada. We really appreciate the opportunity to share some of our perspectives as well.

I'll tell you a little bit about our association. We have over 20 members who are licensed producers, and they have been licensed by Health Canada. We have a patient committee that tries to help give feedback to our members. We also have a committee on regulations, which interacts with the office of medical cannabis on a regular basis to try to improve the regulations even more so we have more quality products. We also have a communications standards committee. We are just about to continue discussions with the secretariat. Hopefully we'll be able to assist them as well.

Since 2013, Canada's licensed producers, large and small, have been effective partners in the establishment of this strict, well-regulated system for the production and distribution of medical cannabis that is the envy of the world. It's for this reason that the Government of Canada is entrusting Canada's licensed producers to be the foundation of the production system for legalized, adult-use cannabis.

Licensed producers are eager to work in collaboration and compliance with the federal and provincial governments to quickly establish effective, low-risk distribution and retail models that are well regulated, highly secure, and tailored to the needs of each province. Bill C-45 must include measures that will allow the legal industry to compete with the black market, notably in relation to price, branding, and advertising, within well-regulated parameters to help eliminate confusion in the marketplace about legitimate sources and to guide Canadians in their use of a new and complex product. The medical cannabis system must also be protected for the benefit of Canadian patients.

Since 2013, as I said, we have been involved as trusted partners of the government, and we want to continue to do that with the provincial governments as well as the federal government. Licensed producers have proven that they can deliver state-of-the-art, sanitary, secure, and professionally operated production facilities; products packaged and labelled to protect children and to ensure that adults have information to make informed choices; a proven distribution and retail system that ensures that products reach their intended recipients with no diversion to the illegal market; and production and retail without impacts on the surrounding communities or collocation with alcohol.

Eliminating the black market is one of the government's main objectives in legalization. There are a number of factors that will impede the ability of the new legalized system to compete with the firmly entrenched black market. Governments need to be mindful not to impose pricing or taxes that will make it impossible for licensed producers to compete with the black market. The parliamentary budget officer of Canada pointed out in his November 2016 report that “The higher the premium for legal cannabis over the illicit price, the more Canadians will purchase cannabis on the illicit market”. Using the same research, the C.D. Howe Institute estimates that even a relatively modest dollar premium per gram would result in about 35% of the market remaining unregulated.

There's also the question of branding and advertising. Licensed producers need to be able to differentiate from and compete with the black market. Indeed, if governments are serious about undermining the black market and want to do it as quickly as possible, they need to ensure that legal businesses have the opportunity to distinguish their products from the illegal.

Moreover, consumers need information from a knowledgeable and experienced source about an unfamiliar product to help them have a safe and consistent experience. There are a wide variety of cannabis strains, with different potencies and effects, depending on their THC and CBD levels. The THC is the hallucinogenic part. You can have it very, very low, as we mentioned before, at .01 or .05. It also could be mainly CBD. There are characteristics such the odour and product form. For instance, now we not only have the dried flower, we vapourize it. We also have oil, and we have capsules. We're trying to find different product forms to help people ingest the product in a different format than smoking. It is important that the legal industry be able to properly communicate the features of each one to inform both consumer choice and safe and responsible use to reduce potential harm.

You'll also be aware that there's ample confusion in the marketplace about the legality of different sources of cannabis.

Canadians need to be able to easily distinguish between what is a legal product and what is not. They need to know where, how, and from whom to get legal, safe cannabis. Branding and advertising within agreed-upon parameters—for example, no targeting of children or youth—provide consumers with the signposting that they need to distinguish legitimate products and sources. This way, adult Canadians can better understand where they can safely purchase the highest quality product.

It would be unfortunate if Canadians continue to be exposed to messaging from illegal sources and silence from legal businesses. Without the ability to brand and advertise, the burgeoning legal industry will be handicapped in its efforts to dislodge the well-entrenched black market. Cannabis Canada Association hopes that the health committee will champion the need for responsible and strictly regulated branding and advertising of cannabis to adults.

Finally, given our mandate and commitment to Canadian patients, we would ask that the committee also lend its support to the preservation of the current medical cannabis system. With the advent of legalization, policy-makers need to ensure continued proper access for patients. As ruled by Canadian courts, without a medical system, Canadian patients may lose insurance coverage, public or private, making their prescribed medication inaccessible.

Important distinctions between medical and non-medical use of cannabis include the following: medical use continues to be overseen and prescribed by health care professionals; health care insurance plans can continue to include medical cannabis in coverage; patients, including young patients, have access to the strain, potency, and amount that manages their symptoms as per their physician's prescriptions; patients can access their medication in specified public places in all non-smoked forms including vaping; and medical cannabis is affordable, zero-rated for taxation, and accepted by drug formularies and public and private insurance.

In conclusion, Bill C-45 seeks to prevent young persons from accessing cannabis, to protect public health and public safety by establishing strict product safety and product quality requirements, and to deter criminal activity by imposing serious criminal penalties for those operating outside the legal framework. Cannabis Canada fully supports these objectives. Cannabis Canada has unparalleled expertise and practical experience in how to distribute safe, quality-controlled cannabis and ensure that only those who are eligible to access it do access it.

In the interest of advancing the government's objectives and dislodging the well-entrenched black market as rapidly as possible, Cannabis Canada Association respectfully recommends that Bill C-45 take into account the need to ensure that the legal industry is in a position to compete with the black market in terms of price; that a certain amount of branding and advertising within strictly regulated parameters is allowed, both in terms of the need to differentiate legal products and sellers from black market products and sellers and to guide Canadians in their use of a new and unfamiliar product; and that the current medical cannabis system is preserved, or, at least, the necessary protections for patients are put in place, including the right to vape their medication.

We want to continue to assist the governments, both federally and provincially, and continue to protect the public safety and our patients. We are committed to helping the government for the distribution or for the regulations, etc., and we will continue to work very hard alongside you. We do not want to lose your trust.

Thank you.

[Dale Tesarowski]

I apologize in advance for asking more questions than I'm answering today.

We've just engaged Saskatchewan residents in an online survey respecting the various provincial responsibilities. Once we get our results, we'll have a better idea about where to go from here. Over 20,000 people have completed surveys over the last three and a half days. It's a staggering number, which only points to the importance of what we're doing today.

The other point I'd like to make at this time is that legalizing cannabis—or really, legalizing certain people over a certain age to have, use, share, or grow certain amounts of cannabis—wasn't something on our provincial agenda. While we're not being dragged kicking and screaming to the dance, putting on our dancing shoes wasn't something we had planned on doing. There are a lot of responsibilities the federal government has put on our provincial plates, without giving us a lot of time to get things ready for implementation.

Among other things, a province is responsible for designing and licensing the distribution and retail sale in their jurisdictions as well as carrying out associated compliance, taxation, and enforcement activities. Provinces are also responsible for setting additional regulatory requirements to address issues of local concern such as setting a higher minimum age or a more restrictive possession or personal cultivation limit. Provinces and municipalities are responsible for establishing zoning rules for cannabis-based businesses, restricting where cannabis may be consumed, and amending provincial traffic safety laws to further address drugged driving. Saskatchewan already has laws in place in respect of licence suspension for drug impairment by new or experienced drivers and zero tolerance for drug use by new drivers.

We must engage with our people, businesses, communities, partners, and other stakeholders regarding these issues and implement processes and practices before July 1, 2018. We must be ready to implement or deal with minimum age of purchase; legislation, regulation, and statute changes; and regulating personal cannabis cultivation and potency rates. We will have to maintain quality control at the point of sale. We will need to ensure that what consumers are getting is what they're supposed to be getting and not something that might be harmful. We have to regulate distribution, retail sales, consumption, and possession, by which I mean where cannabis may be permitted, how it may be consumed, and how to price and tax it.

A taxation framework for cannabis must carefully consider the distribution model and methods of administration and enforcement to ensure that tax is appropriately applied and collected. In setting a rate of tax to be applied to cannabis, the government must consider a rate that is high enough to deter the use of cannabis from a social acceptability perspective but not so high that individuals choose to purchase it illegally to avoid payment of the tax. I call this the “sweet spot”.

In addition, we must address issues such as engagement, public education, and awareness strategies, occupational health and safety, workplace safety issues, and drug-impaired driving laws. We have to engage in regulation of cannabis sales and distribution to and from our first nations communities. We have to provide oversight for municipal authority respecting zoning, licensing, taxation, and fees. And we need to participate in inter-jurisdictional collaboration and analysis regarding age, retail models, taxation, and pricing. We want to have a landscape that's as familiar across the country as possible, so that we don't have different jurisdictions with widely different laws.

The real question is, can all this be done in time? We hope so, but there is much to accomplish in a very short time. Having 12 to 18 months post royal assent would have been an easily attainable time frame. Instead, that was reduced to 14 months after the introduction of the bill.

One of the problems we have in Saskatchewan is that we have set legislative sessions for the spring and the fall as well as a relatively strict timetable for introducing legislation. We give notice in January, get approval in the spring, and then introduce legislation in the fall session. Any bill is then debated and voted during the following spring session.

Cannabis legalization, as proposed, takes us so far away from this timetable that they are complete strangers. We must go outside our normal practice rules in order to meet the July 2018 deadline. Although we're doing our best to do so, there are no guarantees we'll be able to meet this federal deadline.

In addition, we've had to begin our processes without a federal bill in its final form. While we know today what Bill C-45 says, will it look like this by the time it gets to royal assent? There are innumerable examples of other bills where changes, sometimes significant ones, are made during the legislative approval process. Canadian jurisdictions, however, are being asked to proceed without a safety net in the expectation that there will be no major changes en route or that we'll have to be flexible enough to be able to respond to those changes once we embark on our own implementation strategies.

Saskatchewan has some concerns about cannabis legalization. To name a few: ticketable offences; enforcement and regulation generally; public education, awareness, prevention, and treatment; minimum age; labelling and packaging; workplace safety; and whether a phased-in or staged approach would work better.

With respect to ticketable offences, Saskatchewan agrees that a cannabis ticket, as set out in part 2, is a criminal matter. A conviction for such an offence is a criminal conviction, and that is where the issue lies. We appreciate the effort at increasing justice efficiencies by using a ticket, but does that format lead an individual to believe that their payment of the fine is the end of the matter? Is it like a traffic ticket? Do they appreciate that they would then have a criminal conviction that would affect their ability to cross a border, for example? The ticket itself must make this very clear. As provinces, we are engaging in discussions with our federal colleagues about these issues. Perhaps proposed sections 51(3), 52, or 53 should also include a provision that a conviction is a criminal one.

A second issue, and perhaps a more important one about ticketing, concerns proposed subsection 52(b) respecting its requirement that the judicial record kept by a province must be separate and apart from other judicial records. As the conviction is a criminal one, we don't see the need for this requirement. Should we have to create a separate record-keeping system for just these offences? Not only will Saskatchewan have to redesign our system at great cost, it will take considerable time to do so, and for what purpose in the end? An offender must still disclose the conviction if they cross a border. The conviction will still show up in a criminal record check.

With respect to enforcement and regulation, while laudable, cannabis legislation is being implemented without enough scientific foundation. I think we heard from Dr. Ware this morning in that respect. Is there a consistent blood/drug concentration that equates to an individual's impairment? Can all of the toxicology experts agree that at x nanogram percent of THC in blood, everyone is impaired? They can with alcohol. My discussions with the toxicologists suggest that they are aren't at .08 on that point. We are designing a criminal law system through the interactions of Bill C-45 and Bill C-46, yet the science hasn't quite caught up to us.

We're also concerned that drug-impaired driving will increase due to legalization, and significantly higher numbers of standard field sobriety testers, SSFT, or drug recognition evaluators, DRE, must be trained and in the field when legalization takes effect very soon from today. Not only does it take time to train officers, doing so comes at significant cost. While in Saskatchewan we're reducing these costs as much as possible, by doing the DRE two-week classroom training at home—we're doing that in Saskatchewan—we still have to send our officers to either Florida or Arizona for their third week of training, and that's expensive.

Moreover, roadside testing is still in its infancy. Recognized practice rules are not yet in place, nor are there any approved roadside devices. Again, our scientific friends and those in the Department of Justice are working very hard in that respect. We're 292 days away, and we don't have any instruments that are being approved at this time.

The costs of these devices are likely to be significant, and our law enforcement and municipal officials are very concerned that the combination of training needs, device procurement, and the ongoing per-test and analysis costs will be much greater than they can absorb.

Let's put this into perspective. Recent funding announcements from Public Safety Canada will help. They've offered $81 million over five years for provinces to share. But what does that mean? There's $81 million over 13 provinces and territories. That's $6.231 million each over five years, which is $1.246 million per year, per jurisdiction.

To put that into context, we estimate the cost for a device, an approved screening device, will be $3,500. We also know that it costs us about $3,500 to send an officer to Arizona or Florida for the week-long training. It costs $1,000 to train an officer for SSFT. I'm not an accountant, so forgive me, but if we take $1.246 million divided by $3,500, that comes to 356. So we can purchase 356 devices or train 356 officers or some combination of both with the money that's being offered. We'll have to absorb the rest.

On another point, in requiring blood analysis—and we see the scientific reason for having to do so—are our laboratories capable of handling such a large influx of samples? Are there enough labs? Are there enough lab techs to conduct testing in a timely manner? We're left with a situation where a sample may be taken one day and take weeks or months to be analyzed.

Last, our police authorities are concerned that enforcing a four-plant personal grow provision will be very difficult, especially if the cultivation is inside or away from view. There's virtually no way to regulate this. Our officers are very concerned about this.

With respect to public education, awareness, prevention, and treatment, we found that a position shared across ministries and agencies in Saskatchewan is that the primary focus for this topic has to be youth and young adults. Safe use and awareness of potential consequences caused by the drug must be addressed, and although this is an area of joint responsibility, the federal government must lead the way well before implementation.

We know that cannabis use by young people in our country is amongst the highest in the developed world, yet our youth appear to be ill-informed regarding its dangers. For example, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and Addiction in its recent report, “Canadian Youth Perceptions on Cannabis”, noted that youth consider cannabis less harmful than alcohol, yet cannabis use significantly increases the risk of injury or death in vehicular accidents. The health risks associated with cannabis are also little known. We can likely expect, however, that there will be increased demands for our health resources from addictions, mental health, and medical perspectives.

[Dale Tesarowski, Executive Director, Corporate Initiatives, Performance and Planning, Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice]

Thank you very much.

Thanks for the opportunity to state a few words regarding Bill C-45 and the likely legalization of cannabis in Canada.

In case you're counting, we have about 292 days left before July 1, 2018. I actually found a website that has a counter on it.