Road safety concerns unaddressed in pot legalization: Manitoba Ministers want to delay bill until impairment legislation is passed By: Larry Kusch Posted: 5:39 PM CDT Tuesday, May. 22, 2018

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This article was published 21/05/2018 (2423 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba government wants Ottawa to delay legalizing recreational cannabis until companion federal legislation spelling out police procedures for testing impairment is in place.

In a written submission to a Senate committee studying Bill C-45, Manitoba Justice Minister Heather Stefanson and Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen say they are dismayed the Cannabis Act is set to come into force before road-safety provisions of a second federal bill (C-46) are enacted.

The federal government does not appear close to approving a screening device for use in drug-impaired enforcement, they said. “Manitoba police agencies remain unable to procure devices or train officers on their use until this approval is in place.”

Manitoba is also concerned a federal cannabis seed-to-sale tracking system, currently under development, is unlikely “to meet operational requirements.”

“At this late stage of retail preparations, a precise time frame is now required so that the provincial government, municipalities and private-sector retailers can plan appropriately,” Stefanson and Goertzen said.

Speaking with reporters Monday, Stefanson said Ottawa should take as much time as necessary to ensure enforcement and tracking procedures are in place before pot legalization occurs.

“I don’t know how long that will take for the federal government to do that. But depending on how long it takes, we need to ensure that those tools are in place for our safety officers and for our police officers, and we need to make sure that those tools are in place prior to legalization of cannabis, however long that takes,” she said.

The federal Liberal government had initially set out to legalize recreational marijuana by July 1. However, legislation is now expected to come into force in August or early September. The Senate will vote June 7 on Bill C-45. Ottawa has said it will then give provinces eight to 12 weeks to prepare for retail sales.

The Manitoba ministers said in their submission a “precise time frame” is now needed so the province, municipalities and private-sector retailers can properly plan for legalization.

Manitoba has made significant progress, they said, in anticipation of the Cannabis Act coming into force. However, the government continues to be concerned the “short implementation time frame presents significant risks to achieving the federal government’s stated objectives for legalization, including protecting the health and safety of Canadians and reducing the illicit market.”

Manitoba wants Ottawa to clarify, in the legislation, that provinces will have the power to control the home growth of recreational cannabis.

“The standing Senate committee on legal and constitutional affairs unanimously recommended amendment of C-45 to specify provinces and territories hold legislative authority over the possession, cultivation, propagation and/or harvesting of cannabis plants in designated areas, including the power to prohibit it,” the ministers wrote. “Manitoba and Quebec share the view that such an amendment is unnecessary from a legal standpoint, but that it would eliminate ambiguity and avoid needless and costly legal challenges.”

Manitoba MLAs are now considering a bill that would set 19 as the minimum age for the legal purchase of cannabis and prohibit home cultivation of non-medical cannabis.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca

Larry Kusch
Legislature reporter

Larry Kusch didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life until he attended a high school newspaper editor’s workshop in Regina in the summer of 1969 and listened to a university student speak glowingly about the journalism program at Carleton University in Ottawa.

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