Mr. Chair, I'm not going to repeat most of the arguments I've made already, but this is, again, an attempt by the New Democrats to take out the criminalized approach to cannabis, and replace it with a regulatory system more in keeping with tobacco and alcohol. I would just mention a couple of new points which I haven't mentioned yet.
We heard a lot of evidence before this committee of the very harmful effects of criminalization of cannabis on certain specific groups in this country, notably marginalized groups, racialized groups, indigenous Canadians, and young Canadians. Those are the groups that tend to bear the brunt of a criminalized approach to cannabis.
The second point I want to emphasize is the overwhelming evidence from the sociologists who have studied this issue. They have stated that most of the harm imparted upon Canadians does not come from ingesting cannabis itself, but from the harms associated with the criminalized nature of it.
Those are important points to mention as reasons that should cause parliamentarians to choose a rational, regulatory approach to cannabis, and avoid criminalizing this substance where we can. Just like alcohol and tobacco, we can construct a regulatory regime where Canadians respect the basic rules around these adult use substances that have impacts on people, but without doing it with the heavy hand of the criminal law.
This amendment would replace the criminalized approach with a regulatory, fine-based one.