Health committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon, honourable members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. As you heard, my name is Melodie Tilson. I'm the director of policy with the Non-Smokers' Rights Association. With me is our senior policy analyst, Pippa Beck. Together

Health committee  Can I add to that very briefly? The current restrictions are woefully inadequate for tobacco. As Dr. Hammond said, this is what—

Health committee  The wording is the same as in the Tobacco Act currently. This is why it doesn't work: because Health Canada has shown itself loath to police. We have a requirement in Canada of 75% graphic warnings, and this is the kind of package that the tobacco companies have come out with.

Health committee  Comprehensive wording to ensure that there are no logos, no branding elements, only a brand name.

Health committee  Just a brand name and required information.

Health committee  We think that in addition to the brand name, the package should include the cannabis strain, the THC and CBD content, the amount of the product in the package, basic manufacturer's information and, of course, a health warning and other government-mandated information.

Health committee  It goes far beyond colour. We're talking about fancy fonts. We're talking about package shape and size, opening style; all of these attributes that convey brand images. It's not only about colour. There's a very comprehensive list of restrictions in the government's consultation

Health committee  These are all packages available in Canada.

Health committee  They're both. These are all cigarettes that are available on the legal market. I brought them as examples of how the industry is able to skirt what they claim to be very tight packaging restrictions, and as an argument in favour of plain and standardized packaging. Without that v

Health committee  This is cannabis, this is tobacco. I'm sorry for the confusion.

Health committee  I just have one last comment about the contraband market in Australia. All credible evidence shows that there has been no increase in contraband. The only sources that said the contraband market there has increased are those funded by the tobacco industry, specifically reports by

Health committee  There's the manufacturer, Imperial Tobacco in the case of a tobacco product, and the brand name is Player's. There would be the manufacturer's name of the cannabis—

Health committee  —yes, the licensed producer, and then the brand name, but controlled, because we don't want to see a brand of marijuana called “Everybody Does It”.

Health committee  The National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco...? Yes.

Health committee  Absolutely. In fact, we brought with us today a presentation from Imperial Tobacco to its parent company British American Tobacco talking about the contraband market in Canada and the campaign that they waged for many years ostensibly to get contraband under control, but as the p