A second theme we heard, Minister Wilson-Raybould, was about the severity of the criminal penalties for those who are acting outside of the legal permissions that are in the act. The example that really hit home for me was the height restrictions on home plants.
We heard from the task force that the one-metre height restriction was not about preventing youth from accessing drugs or about the black market; it was simply that the average fencing by-law height was four feet, and they were sympathetic to neighbours next to somebody growing their four plants.
In the act, over a metre to a metre and a half is a ticketable offence, and anything over a metre and a half is then subject to criminal charges, with penalties of up to 14 years. That's the example that hit home for me. Could you explain the 14 years and the severity of the penalties?
Is there any room for softening on some of those that aren't technically criminal charges but are more municipal by-law issues?