Thank you for the question, and thank you for hearing from over 100 witnesses.
In terms of the penalties, from ticketing to 14 years, there is a broad spectrum of penalties, and the imposition of a ticketable offence up to 14 years will depend on the individual circumstances of the particular infraction or offence.
If we're specifically talking about the height of plants that can be produced or cultivated at home, I recognize what the task force has indicated in terms of the height of plants. From my understanding, plants can grow quite high. The higher the plant, the more product the plant can provide, which is an indication that there might be an intention to divert some of that product to the illegal market.
It entirely depends on the circumstances in which an officer finds the plants, and any of the other offences. Whether it would be appropriate for a ticketable offence or up to 14 years depends on the possession amounts or the circumstances of another offence. There's obviously discretion that a judge would have in posing a sentence. Likewise, there's discretion that a prosecutor would have, whether proceeding by way of a summary conviction or indictment.