VIANARCHRIS
Well-Known Member
A marijuana flag flaps in the wind above the crowd at the annual 4/20 cannabis culture celebration at Sunset Beach in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday April 20, 2016.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The Senate has voted to accept the latest version of the government’s long-debated legal marijuana legislation, paving the way for the bill to pass into Canadian law.
The Senate voted 52-29 to approve the government’s newest version of Bill C-45 on Tuesday evening.
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Senate of Canada
@SenateCAVote result on @SenHarder's motion related to the House of Commons response to the Senate's amendments to Bill #C45: Yeas: 52 Nays: 29 Abstentions: 2 #SenCA #cdnpoli
4:25 PM - Jun 19, 2018
Bill C-45 now moves to royal assent, the final step in the legislative process. That could occur within days at the government’s discretion. The government’s desire to see home grown marijuana permitted across Canada eventually prevailed, and a proposal from the Senate to allow provinces and territories to ban them has been stripped from the final bill.
Marijuana is not yet legal in Canada, and is not expected to be until late August or early September. The provinces and municipalities have been promised eight to 12 weeks for their final preparations.
Bill C-45 has been the subject of heated debate and uncertainty on Parliament Hill over the past several days. The conflict between the elected House of Commons and the unelected Senate ramped up last week with the government’s rejection of several key Senate amendments — most notably one linked to home cultivation.
Quebec, Manitoba and Nunavut have all decided they don’t want to allow home grows, in spite of the federal government’s desire to permit four plants per household. The Senate decided to side with the provinces, inserting a provision that would allow them to ban home grows if they desired.
WATCH: There are options available for senators on cannabis bill, says Dean
Over the weekend and into Monday, however, there began to be indications that the Senate might defer to the government’s position.
In an interview on The West Block on Sunday, independent Sen. Tony Dean, who sponsored the bill in the upper chamber, noted that while the Senate can provide advice, it’s the government that makes final decisions.
Then, on Monday, independent Sen. Andre Pratte, who had publicly supported the provincial bans, told reporters that while he felt the issue was important, “it’s not crucial” and not important enough to provoke a crisis.
“We know that it will come before the courts,” Pratte said. “That’s a case, even in the opinion of the Quebec government, that you’d have an excellent chance of winning.”
READ MORE: The countdown is on for cannabis legalization as feds race ticking clock
Court challenges may indeed be inevitable, and Quebec has already promised it will push back against any federal law that allows home-grows across the land.
A spokesperson for Manitoba’s justice minister told Global News on Tuesday that the minister is “satisfied that provinces have the legal authority to restrict home grown cannabis, up to and including prohibition” and that the Manitoba would be “willing to defend our position if challenged.”
Impaired driving bill still languishing
One other complication also remains: the government’s second marijuana bill, linked to drug-impaired driving. Bill C-46 includes new powers for police and harsher penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but like C-45, it contained some elements that the Senate wasn’t sure should be included.
Specifically, the upper chamber took exception to allowing police to force drivers to submit to random breath tests (without any reasonable suspicion of impairment) that could detect the active ingredient in marijuana.
READ MORE: Random breath testing would not violate Charter rights, says constitutional expert
The Senate removed that mandatory screening provision, which Justice Minister Jody-Wilson Raybould dubbed the “centrepiece” of the legislation, and sent C-46 back to the House of Commons. The government then rejected the Senate’s changes.
READ MORE: Pot … or not? Small provinces much more prepared for Day 1 of legalization
As of Tuesday, the issues surrounding Bill C-46 are still not resolved. The House of Commons is set to rise for the summer on Friday.
The enforcement of Canada’s new impaired driving laws, once they take effect, is also somewhat up in the air. Police currently rely on standard field sobriety tests, Drug Recognition Experts (DREs) and bodily fluid testing to detect impairment by drugs.
READ MORE: Police training lags as marijuana legalization looms
“Drug screening devices will assist with roadside testing,” said Mario Harel, president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, said an emailed statement.
“At this time, we await approval by the federal government as to which units will meet technical specifications and will be approved by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. Until this process has been completed, police services are unable to make purchases and train officers in their use.”
Harel said that regardless of the status of drug screening devices, “we are very confident in our present processes, knowing that they will continually improve with time as we build capacity.”
-With files from Bryan Mullan and Janet Silver
