Mr. Speaker, let me first express my personal gratitude that the member is going to stick around.
I would like to thank the member for Kootenay—Columbia for giving me the opportunity to speak to our government's approach to legalizing and regulating cannabis.
The regulatory approach that our government proposes prioritizes the health and safety of all Canadians while enabling a regulated industry to produce quality-controlled cannabis for controlled distribution and sale by provincial and territorial governments.
Federal oversight is absolutely key to ensuring all Canadians have the assurance that licensed producers would be subject to the same quality standards and requirements from coast to coast to coast.
Under the proposed approach, all licensed producers, no matter where they are located, must meet rigorous national standards for quality and safety, physical security, personnel vetting, record keeping, and inventory control. They would be subject to clear and consistent regulatory requirements for good production practices and product testing. They would also be subject to rigorous federal inspections to verify and enforce compliance with these requirements.
Our government's proposed approach has always prioritized the health and safety of Canadians by enabling a nationally regulated industry that produces legal and quality-controlled cannabis. Let me explain briefly why that is important.
It is absolutely important to the health and safety of Canadians that what is available for legal purchase by adult Canadian consumers must first of all be of known potency. There is a great deal of confusion in the criminal supply of cannabis currently available to consumers in that quite often, consumers do not know the potency of what they are taking. Therefore, in order to enable and assist them in making healthier, safer, and more socially responsible choices, they have to know the potency of what they are consuming. It is also critical that they can be assured of its purity, that it does not contain dangerous chemicals, such as fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and other substances unfit for human consumption.
Finally, our regulated approach allows the consumer to know the provenance of the cannabis that is available for sale. Protecting public health is an overarching policy objective, but I want to assure the member opposite it is not the only one. The government is also committed to using licensing and production controls to encourage a diverse, competitive market to create an environment where different types of producers, large and small, can participate and succeed.
On November 21, shortly after the day the member asked his question, our government published a detailed consultation paper that outlined a proposed approach for regulating production and sought input on a diverse range of issues, including the licensing, cultivation, and processing of cannabis.
The proposed approach is a clear expression of the government's objective to enable a diverse, competitive legal industry comprised of both large and small players in regions right across this country. The proposed approach would establish different classes of licences, including the creation of new micro-cultivation and microprocessing licences, craft licences, if you will, that would allow smaller producers to enter the legal cannabis market.
During the consultations, our government heard the views of all interested stakeholders, including prospective entrants into this new market, on the regulatory framework that will define what this new licensing approach would mean in practice and how it would operate to allow for a vibrant and diversified marketplace.
Health Canada is currently considering the input it has received. We made a commitment to publish a summary of the comments received and that report will be available in the next few weeks. In the meantime, our government will continue to work with potential applicants, large and small, to ensure they have the information and support they need to apply for a production licence.
Just by way of update, I also want to inform the member that we currently have over 200 licence applications in the final stage of review right across the country. We are very confident of the work of Health Canada in approving those licences. The approval of those licences is not a political process. It is done entirely independent of political interference or involvement.