Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith for her question and the opportunity to provide some clarity on a number of issues she has raised.
First, I want to be very clear on something that is terribly important. It is irresponsible to suggest that the law changed as a result of a campaign promise prior to an election and a statement of the government's intent to bring forward legislation.
The law, with respect to marijuana, is not in limbo. It is in effect. It is currently a scheduled drug under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. I have tried to make it very clear in the House on numerous occasions that the law remains in effect. The law should be obeyed, it should be upheld, and it should be enforced. I hope that is clear. I would urge all Canadians to obey all the laws of this land to avoid any legal jeopardy.
I also want to be very clear on the government's intention with respect to marijuana. We have been very explicit in our statement to the Canadian people and through this Parliament of our intention to legalize, regulate, and restrict marijuana. We are working diligently, and I will provide some additional information about some of the processes we will undertake in order to do that.
I also want to be equally clear that marijuana is not a benign substance. It represents a significant risk to certain segments of our population, most notably children. Therefore, our first public interest priority is the protection of our kids.
Canada currently has the highest rates of marijuana usage of any developed country in the world. Therefore, our efforts are to restrict access that children have to marijuana that puts them at risk. There is a significant body of scientific evidence that marijuana poses a significant health risk to the developing brain. Therefore, we need to do a better job of protecting our kids.
From life experience in dealing with organized crime, organized crime profits in the billions from the illegal trafficking of drugs generally in the country, but in particular of marijuana. Therefore, another very important public purpose aim of our government, through the legalization and regulation of marijuana, is to take that profit centre away from organized crime, away from street gangs, and away from those who would victimize and, through violence, terrorize so many of our communities.
We believe we can do a much better job of controlling the production, distribution, and the consumption of marijuana that is currently available to us under the existing law, but this is a complex task. This is going to take a great deal of work. There are important questions to be answered.
To that aim, our government has undertaken to form a task force. It will consult with expertise from the science, health, and justice communities, from law enforcement, and speaking to officials in both our provincial and territorial government, to work out a system which we believe will be comprehensive and responsible to control the production, distribution, and consumption of cannabis products across this country.
The government has been very explicit, and the ministries of justice, health, and public safety have been working very collaboratively together in the development of a framework for regulation. That framework will be informed by the work of our task force.
I anticipate in the not too distant future, and, frankly, an announcement is for my minister and not for her parliamentary secretary to make, that my minister will be informing the House and the Canadian people about the membership. I will also tell members that the membership of that task force will be made up of well-recognized experts from the fields of science, health, justice, and law enforcement.
Through that broad consultation, which is so important, and the collaborative work among three ministries, we are confident we will be able to bring forward a system of regulation that will do the job of protecting our children, of making our communities safe, and protecting all Canadians from the threat of organized crime, the violence and victimization it perpetuates in our communities, and at the same time ensure all Canadians of our commitment to their health.
This is not going to be an easy task. We are committed to doing it, but we are committed to doing it right. We are working as expeditiously as possible, and we are moving forward as quickly as we are able, but we are committed to ensuring that all of these important areas of public policy are addressed.
