There are numerous players in addition to the federal government when it comes to education, so $9 million is a good start. Obviously, there are all the provinces and territories, and we have to differentiate between the public education component, which comes down to the nuts and bolts of what's going to be legal—where you can buy it, who can buy it, and who can possess it—and the health promotion component, which is the legitimate sphere of the federal government in health matters. We certainly encourage a robust investment there, and one that is focused on conversation.
In 2005 my association was funded by the federal government to do a project that was about getting parents talking to their children about cannabis use and driving. It was about having the conversation. It was non-judgmental and non-stigmatizing. It was just about breaking down some of those barriers.
There are a lot of misconceptions on both sides about cannabis use and the product itself that need to be broken down, making sure parents have access to those valuable resources that tell the whole story. Kids aren't stupid. You can have a conversation with them and that's what I meant about needing to normalize the conversation, not the use. We haven't even normalized the conversation about alcohol use, and that's the socially accepted substance.
There's a lot of work to be done, because we're seeing a big societal shift as far as what the norms around drug use are in this country.
We do support ticketing as opposed to those minors having a criminal offence.