Canadian Senate Recommends Delaying Marijuana Legalization For A Year

Joel Baglole 

The legalization of marijuana in Canada may not happen as expected now that the Senate has recommended delaying for up to a year the legislation that would legalize the drug.

Members of the Senate's Aboriginal Peoples Committee are recommending that the Liberal Government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hold back on legalizing marijuana for a year so that time can be taken to address the drug’s potential harmful effects in Indigenous communities across Canada.

The committee, chaired by Liberal Saskatchewan Senator Lillian Dyck, said in its report on Bill C-45 that the government simply did not consult enough with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities before pushing ahead with its plan to legalize the drug.

"Many communities are really worried about the potential adverse effects on their members, and especially on their youth, and it may be even worse because of the trauma in their communities," said Senator Dyck, adding that existing social issues in Indigenous communities could be made worse by increased drug use.

If passed, the amendment would delay the bill's full implementation for up to a year. Prime Minister Trudeau had originally wanted marijuana legalized for July 1 (Canada Day) this year. That plan was scuttled by the House of Commons, which said it needed more time to study the impacts of marijuana legalization and the date for legalization was subsequently pushed back to late summer or early fall.

As currently written, the marijuana legalization bill stipulates that the law does not come into force until a date is fixed by an order of the governor-in-council — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet. A final vote on the bill is scheduled to occur in the Senate on or before June 7, with legalization expected to follow 12 weeks later.

The Senate committee also said that the federal government should take that time to negotiate a revenue-sharing agreement with First Nations communities. The committee has heeded a request from Manny Jules, the Chief Commissioner of the First Nations Tax Commission, who recommended that the federal government and the provinces hand marijuana taxing authority over to First Nations governments so they can impose their own levy on marijuana grown and sold on reserves.

"The way the bill has been crafted shows there was very little consultation," Conservative Alberta Senator Scott Tannas told reporters Tuesday.