Province wasting time with call for weed legalization options, opinions: NDP, government workers

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This article was published 27/07/2017 (3150 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba will likely be the province’s regulator for cannabis, although Justice Minister Heather Stefanson says “nothing is off the table” right now, 11 months before Canadians will be able to legally buy it over the counter.

Stefanson spoke with reporters Thursday, shortly after the Conservative government announced it had issued an expression of interest to determine how best to deal with the myriad issues growing out of Ottawa’s plan to enact the new law July 1.

The province will gather perspectives from members of the public, non-profits and the private sector on options for the implementation of production, distribution and retail sales.

“We are opening this up to get more ideas about how to do this,” Stefanson said, adding Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries is one retail option. “This is a significant change in public policy and we want to make sure we take the time to get it right.”

NDP justice critic Andrew Swan said the Tories are guilty of procrastination.

“We already have all the answers to what’s being sought in the expression of interest,” he told reporters. “Everyone in Canada has known now since the (2015) federal election that the legalization of cannabis was coming and this government has dragged its feet.”

Swan said Liquor Marts should — at least initially — handle the retail end of things and, as is the case with alcohol, private businesses can provide the same service in communities without a Crown corporation outlet.

“I’m not saying this will be the best forever… people may want there to be separate stand-alone stores and that’s fair,” he said, but “it probably is (best) for next July,” given that there’s less than a year on the clock.

A federal government task force report made public last December included storefront sales as one of its recommendations, but urged a ban on selling cannabis in locations where alcohol and tobacco products are available.

Stefanson denied the government has delayed matters, noting Manitoba became one of the first provinces to introduce legislation putting restrictions on the drug — Bill 25, the Cannabis Harm Prevention Act — in the spring.

She said the province is continuing to push for clarification on a “significant number” of questions put to the federal government concerning safety and public health. It’s why Brian Pallister is among a group of premiers who recently suggested Ottawa consider an extension to the Canada Day deadline; the request was quickly rejected.

“What if those questions are not answered by then?” Stefanson said. “It would be irresponsible to move forward.”

The union representing Liquor and Lotteries workers says the expression of interest is a waste of time.

“I’m floored by it, I think this is ridiculous,” Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union president Michelle Gawronski said.

Last winter, MGEU commissioned a Probe Research phone survey asking Manitobans’ opinions about cannabis sales; 65 per cent of the random sampling of 1,000 participants said they wanted the government to handle it the same way booze is sold. The results are considered 95 per cent accurate within plus or minus 3.1 per cent.

“We have an excellent system set up now through the sale of liquor,” said Gawronski, who clarified that the union would not be participating in the expression of interest but would instead urge the government to reconsider it.

Cannabis distribution needs to be public to ensure accountability and proper training, she said, and to put money back into Manitoba’s pockets.

“Right now Manitobans actually are losing,” she said. “We’re losing ERs, we’re losing acute hospitals, we’re losing services that we need, urgent care, everything else… take the sales from marijuana and put it back into services we need.”

The expression of interest is open until Sept. 8 and accessible on merx.com, the Canadian public tendering service.

 

jane.gerster@freepress.mb.ca