Wynne wants to spark up a conversation with fellow premiers about legalized pot

Premier Kathleen Wynne plans to raise the issue of legalized recreational marijuana at the annual premiers’ conference.

"I will be stunned if (the premiers) say they are not being asked about (marijuana),” Premier Kathleen Wynne told the Star.  (Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS file photo)  

By Robert Benzie

WHITEHORSE—As Canada’s provincial and territorial leaders gather for their annual summer conference, Premier Kathleen Wynne wants the inside dope from her colleagues about legalized recreational marijuana.

“I can tell you I’m going to ask people what they’re thinking about it,” Wynne told the Star in an interview before the summit begins Wednesday.

Her comments come against as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government prepares to end the prohibition of marijuana.

Trudeau has appointed former deputy prime minister Anne McLellan to lead a task force of medical and legal experts to consult with provinces, municipalities, and Canadians before releasing a report in November that will serve as the template of next year’s legislation.

Wynne, who has officials from 12 provincial departments working on Ontario’s weed strategy, said she is eager to learn the views of other premiers as they gear up for that.

While marijuana is not on the meeting’s formal agenda, the premier said there will be “opportunities for us in casual conversation.”

“I’ll certainly be saying, ‘How are you guys dealing with this? You know what I’m saying; what are you saying?’ I will be stunned if they say they are not being asked about (it),” she said, noting her colleagues across the country “all have different regimes around alcohol.”

On the subject of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, Wynne clarified what she has been saying about the provincial booze monopoly’s involvement in the recreational marijuana market.

“It may not even be sold out of the LCBO. Because I’ve had people say to me we don’t want to have marijuana and alcohol sold out of the same places,” she said, emphasizing she envisions the agency’s cannabis role being in “regulation and distribution and monitoring it in some way.”

Like Wynne, British Columbia Premier Christy Clark has expressed concern on the effects of weed on children and teenagers.

“We need to make sure that young people whose brains are growing, will not be allowed unfettered access to getting marijuana,” Clark told Global News in December.

“Just like we have with alcohol . . . (if) it’s something that government is prepared to endorse and allow, we should make sure that the rules are very clear that we don’t want young people to be using it,” she said.

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil’s government has a working group examining the issue, including whether weed should be sold at government-owned Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation stores.

“Canadians are asking for it, Canadians believe it’s time to have marijuana legalized,” McNeil said in April, noting “I’m sure there will be tax revenue, yes.”

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard’s government, which owns the Société des alcools du Québec monopoly, has said it does not want marijuana sold on SAQ shelves.

Finance Minister Carlos Leitao said in February that they have “no plan, no idea, no intention of commercializing” cannabis.

“It’s up to the federal government to determine how to do it. I will never have the obligation to commercialize (marijuana) even if it becomes legal. It’s not up to the province of Quebec to do that,” said Leitao, adding Ottawa will “have to figure it out.”

Recently elected Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said in April that legalization is “a concern for parents, it’s a concern for all . . . that this be done properly.”

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s government, meanwhile, has three of his cabinet ministers studying how legalized weed will affect road safety.

“I don’t think we have clear answers on the potential effects on driver safety and what the plan is to prevent impaired driving due to marijuana use,” Wall said in May.

“There are still too many accidents and deaths due to drunk drivers and all governments are taking steps to crack down on that. Legalizing marijuana could certainly mean more impaired drivers, which no one wants,” he said.

“Right now, there isn’t a clear standard for what constitutes impairment and there isn’t a roadside test like there is for drunk driving. These are the kinds of issues that need to be sorted out before the federal government makes marijuana use legal.”