Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour to rise today to speak on behalf of the NDP motion, which reads:
That the House recognize (a) the contradiction of continuing to give Canadian criminal records for simple possession of marijuana after the government has stated that it should not be a crime; (b) recognize that this situation is unacceptable to Canadians, municipalities and law enforcement agencies; (c) recognize that a growing number of voices, including that of a former Liberal prime minister, are calling for decriminalization to address this gap; and (d) call upon the government to immediately decriminalize the simple possession of marijuana for personal use.
This discussion has been going on for a long time. We can look back to the Le Dain commission in 1969. In 1971, the NDP introduced a bill to decriminalize marijuana possession after the Liberals ignored the recommendations of the Le Dain commission report. In 1993, NDP MP Jim Fulton introduced a bill to legalize marijuana in Canada, and the Liberal government voted it down as well. There have been plenty of opportunities for the Liberals to address this issue.
In 2009, the NDP voted against the Conservative bill that proposed mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana, and the Liberal Party voted in support of that. The NDP used every tactic possible to stop or delay the Conservative omnibus bill that included mandatory sentences for marijuana, and the Liberals were nowhere to be found.
In my community, on the west coast, in Courtenay—Alberni, there has been a lot of confusion. The Prime Minister was elected, in part, on a promise to legalize marijuana. “We will legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana”, reads the platform of the Liberal Party of Canada, though no details were given about the speed at which this legislation might occur.
What has happened in Port Alberni is that seven medical marijuana dispensaries have opened since the election. There were none before. The RCMP in Port Alberni has decided not to take action or prosecute those selling marijuana at their dispensaries. However, in Oceanside, which is a 35-minute drive away, the same force, the RCMP, has decided to enforce the law. It is the same in Courtenay, which is only one hour north of Port Alberni. These are all RCMP detachments. They each have a different commander. It is extremely confusing and is becoming a huge problem for local governments as they try to figure out how this works and where they come in with respect to legislation.
In Port Alberni it fell on the local mayor and council. I will read from the Alberni Valley News:
But while the federal government works on delivering its platform promise, municipalities are left to grapple with dispensaries popping up in their storefronts. And given this is a federal issue, there doesn't seem much that municipalities can do.
Currently, selling marijuana—whether medical or recreational—is illegal under Canadian law, said Port Alberni RCMP Inspector Mac Richards.
Despite this the City of Port Alberni voted to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries at its Jan. 25 meeting. It wasn't a unanimous decision. Throughout the three months that city council debated the issue, it was split...
[Mayor Ruttan said that ] it was “unfair” for the federal government to have downloaded it onto municipalities—but that he was committed to upholding council's decision.
“But it doesn't matter—this is what council has voted for and I believe that council's position is fairly clear. It is this council's best attempt to control the uncontrollable.
This view was shared by other council members. Councillor Sharie Minions said,
It shouldn't be on the municipal agenda but it is a problem in our community. If we wait it will probably just get worse and worse and worse by the time the federal government does something about it
This is a quote about what it happening in my community. The local government has been downloaded a problem. People in the community do not understand whether marijuana is legal. It is being enforced in two-thirds of the riding of Courtenay—Alberni, and in one-third of the riding it is not being enforced.
I received an email from John, from Courtenay, who said, “There's been lots of raids and arrests at marijuana dispensaries of late. Given that this Liberal government will be legalizing in the near future, I have to wonder why this is happening. If you have any ideas on this matter, I would love to hear them. If there is a way you could remind the government, that would be great.”
I am doing that for John right now, making sure the government has been reminded.
There is another email. This is from Cory Pahl. He is a registered physiotherapist in Qualicum Beach. He says, “While not being a recreational user myself, I'm a member of the millennial generation, so I grew up around it and I have a contemporary view of marijuana professionally and its application in health and also in today's culture.” He also says that his suggestions come from a concern for his generation and the damage criminalizing some of their recreational activity has done. He has a lot of concerns about the fairness side of things.
I think we realize that the government was elected on a mandate to reform Canada's marijuana laws. Right now, the confusion is enormous. It has been left on the backs of local governments, local police forces, local RCMP detachments, to try to figure it out. We have concerns from business owners who are supplying patients who need access to marijuana. We do not know where supply is coming from for a lot of dispensaries, so there is confusion there.
We want to make sure that we use our resources when it comes to the criminal justice system for things that matter. We want to make sure that we use our resources to protect the vulnerable and make sure we give people the resources to be able to avoid choices that might harm them.
I feel it is actually very wasteful that we are spending time prosecuting people where it might affect their potential employment or their ability to travel in the future, when we know that the government has made a commitment that in a year down the road or so it is going to be legal. Why would we not make that decision now? Why would the government and the justice minister not make a directive to the courts to stop enforcing the marijuana laws today, to stop prosecuting people in courts, to stop chasing young adults and people who maybe could make better choices if we took a harm reduction approach? We know the government was elected on a willingness to change. We want to get it right. We know that harm reduction approaches have been taken in countries around the world, such as Portugal.
The NDP has laid out a very thoughtful, very respectful plan on how to move forward with reforming Canada's marijuana laws. Right now, my big concern is that the government made a promise, but it had no plan. It feels like it was made on the back of a paper napkin. There has been no action. It is very unclear and it is creating a very messy situation. Really, we need a decision.
When speaking about people in British Columbia, iPolitics just did a survey. It stated that possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use should not be a crime, and 73% of British Columbians agreed with that and 16% of British Columbians did not agree with that.
No wonder why people, after what they have seen, when they look at our history and the failure of the approach of previous governments in taking this issue on, when they see the mess that is being created today, do not have to look far. They can walk down the main street of Port Alberni or down the main street of many communities and they can see the lack of leadership on this issue is clear. It is creating a grey area. It is not doing what the government set out to; that is, protect young people and the vulnerable.
I call upon the government to support our motion, to support decriminalizing marijuana, and to support using our resources for what we need them to do; that is, take a more positive, progressive approach and follow through with its promise.