Justice  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to advise the House that the Minister of Justice has made tremendous progress, not only in developing a system which will strengthen our judiciary to ensure we maintain judicial excellence while reflecting the great diversity of the country. To date, the Minister of Justice has appointed 77 judges and 22 deputy judges across the country.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I have some experience with the actual application of the sex offender registry. We have talked about the establishment of a federal sex offender registry but, in fact, it was the province of Ontario, in 1999, that implemented what was then called Christopher's law, a sex offender registry, which was the first of its kind in this country.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member opposite a couple of points for clarification. Under the previous legislation, if there was a belief that a sex offender posed a significant public safety threat, the authority resided with the local police chief to release that information to the public.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, for reasons that will shortly become apparent, I too feel a certain resemblance to the member for Winnipeg North. Accordingly, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

Cannabis Act  Mr. Speaker, I asked a similar question earlier, but I got a somewhat difficult response that I did not really understand, so I would like to ask it of this member. There have been a number of people from his end of the bench who have been suggesting that we should, as an interim measure, decriminalize cannabis.

Cannabis Act  Mr. Speaker, I first want to suggest to him that one of the important functions of this bill and federal legislation is to create a regulatory framework for the development of a robust system of regulation to control production, distribution, and consumption of this drug. We are talking about strict regulation.

Cannabis Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his remarks and for his conditional support for Bill C-45. The member suggested that he would like to see as an interim measure the implementation of decriminalization. Decriminalization is a process by which the criminal penalties that enforce a prohibition are removed and replaced with civil penalties.

Cannabis Act  Madam Speaker, the advice we received, particularly from our task force, which included people with great expertise in public health, neuroscience, and problematic substance use, was that it should be strictly restricted for those under the age of adulthood. For adult users, what we should be encouraging is lower risk, safer, and more socially responsible use.

Cannabis Act  Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise and reassure the member that in all my experience with this file, I have not seen a single incident of anyone having insider advantage or knowledge, and I have had primary carriage of this file on behalf of my government from the outset. It was once suggested in the House that we had given some advantage and foreknowledge that somehow benefited people who had invested in this.

Cannabis Act  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to speak to Bill C-45, a bill for which I have had some responsibility and involvement from the outset. I will not be using my limited time today to review all aspects of this bill, which I think have been discussed significantly in the House.

Cannabis Act  Madam Speaker, the member and I have had some very thoughtful conversations on this issue. I very much look forward to working with him as we move forward with this initiative. I would like to share with the member a report and some statements made by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health with respect to the issue of decriminalization.

Cannabis Act  Madam Speaker, the member has said quite clearly that he is concerned that if we were to legalize marijuana, we would put young people at risk and it would lead to other health and social harms for our youth. Quite frankly, I am quite prepared to agree with him. I think legalization alone would do all of those things.

Cannabis Act  Madam Speaker, if I may just correct the member, I was not merely a member of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police; I was the president. The member purports to value evidence-based policy. I just want to share with him some of the membership details of the people who participated in the government's task force.

Cannabis Act  Madam Speaker, I would like to provide some reassurance to my friend, and ask him a question. First, let me be very clear. Cannabis is a dangerous drug for kids. That is exactly why we want to strictly regulate it, to reduce their access to the drug, and to protect their health.

Cannabis Act  Madam Speaker, the member would benefit from the fact there is an understanding that in every province and territory in this country there are provincial regulations that prohibit the purchase, consumption, and possession of alcohol. We have worked with the provinces and territories to ensure the provinces and territories enact similar legislation to maintain a complete prohibition without resulting in a criminal record for our kids.