Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, Mr. Minister.
First of all, I want to say that we are ready to support Bill C-93 at second reading, as we previously announced. However, the work of the committee will provide the response to the next stage.
One of our causes for doubt is the way in which Bill C-45, the legalization of marijuana, has been handled. It was rushed into place to fulfill a campaign promise by the Prime Minister. No one listened to educational experts or the police. No one educated our young people.
Today, six months later, we are already seeing that the basic idea, to get organized crime out of the cannabis market, is not working. Everyone is laughing at the government. Organized crime continues to sell cannabis, and now people are walking round with illegal marijuana with no fear of being caught.
That makes us skeptical of the way in which you want to implement Bill C-93.
One of the topics I would like to discuss with you is the process.
We know that the police often negotiate with people. When they are arrested, some people may have committed other, more serious offences. But the police can choose to charge them with marijuana possession because the consequences for them are less serious. Those kinds of negotiations go on.
Now that cannabis is legal, how are we going to make it so that people who have committed more serious crimes, but have the opportunity to get out of them by being convicted only of marijuana possession, do not slip through the net by applying for a pardon? They have other problems. We do not want this to be a free pass for everyone.
What will the process be?