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A key early focus for the new session of the Saskatchewan legislature in March was introduction of a provincial regulatory regime for legal cannabis in Saskatchewan.

The provincial government released its framework for cannabis legalization and moved first reading of The Cannabis Control (Saskatchewan) Act a week earlier.

On Monday, second reading was moved and that provided the province’s minister of Justice and Attorney-General Don Morgan to rise in the legislature to speak further on the bill.   

What follows are Morgan’s remarks in the legislature, as recorded in Hansard.

Hon. Mr. Morgan: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to move second reading of The Cannabis Control (Saskatchewan) Act. This bill will implement a provincial regulatory scheme for legalized cannabis in Saskatchewan.

Mr. Speaker, federal Bill C-45 is expected to come into force in the summer of 2018. Once in force, that bill will implement a federal framework to provide restricted access to legalized cannabis in Canada. In response to the federal government’s decision to legalize cannabis, it is necessary for the province to pass cannabis legislation to regulate those matters that fall under provincial jurisdiction or are otherwise not addressed within the federal scheme.

Mr. Speaker, a primary focus of the proposed provincial legislation is to ensure the health and safety of citizens. In particular, protecting minors from the harmful effects of cannabis is an important goal for government. Under the federal legislation, the minimum age for the consumption and possession of cannabis is 18. Further, the federal legislation allows minors under the age of 18 to possess up to five grams of cannabis with no consequences. Mr. Speaker, the federal government has made it clear that provinces may adopt a higher minimum age of consumption and possession for minors. Additionally the federal government has encouraged provinces to adopt provincial laws to address minors who possess less than five grams of cannabis.

The proposed legislation will prohibit the possession, consumption, or distribution of cannabis by minors under the age of 19. This is in line with the province’s legal age for consumption of alcohol. It also aligns with the minimum age chosen by many other provinces and territories. This Act will also allow police to issue tickets to minors who are found in possession of cannabis, and to seize that cannabis.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation contains further rules respecting the sale and possession and consumption of cannabis by adults. The Act will prohibit the consumption of cannabis by adults in public places or in vehicles. Individuals that wish to consume cannabis will be required to do so in a private location such as their home or cottage. The legal possession and distribution limits set by this legislation will mirror the limits set within the federal Act. In particular adults will be allowed to possess up to 30 grams of dried cannabis in public and grow up to four plants within their private households.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation will also allow for the establishment and regulation of a private system for the retail sale, distribution, and wholesaling of cannabis in the province. This system will be administered and regulated by the provincial cannabis authority, which is expected to be designated as the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority. Cannabis permittees will be required to comply with all the rules, terms, and conditions that are established by this Act, the regulations, and SLGA [Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority]. This approach will ensure that the sale and distribution of cannabis is conducted in a safe and reliable manner while providing new economic opportunities for Saskatchewan businesses.

Mr. Speaker, the government recognizes that certain municipalities and First Nations do not want retail cannabis stores operating within their community. As a result under this legislation, retail permits will not be issued in communities that choose to prohibit retail cannabis stores.

Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to ensuring the health and safety of the people of Saskatchewan. The legalization of cannabis is a complex topic, and there is no doubt that our regulatory system will develop and evolve over time as we gain experience in this area. However, I am confident that the proposed legislation will implement a safe and effective regulatory system for the sale, possession, and consumption of legal cannabis in this province.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to move second reading of The Cannabis Control (Saskatchewan) Act.

The Speaker: —The minister has moved second reading of Bill No. 121, The Cannabis Control (Saskatchewan) Act. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion? I recognize the member from Athabasca.

Opposition NDP MLA Buckley Belanger provided extensive remarks on the issue. Not lost on the member was the reality that Saskatchewan was the last province in the country to bring in a regulatory framework. 

Mr. Belanger: —… Now, Mr. Speaker, as we’ve indicated from time to time again, it’s on numerous . . . and pretty par for the course when it comes to the Saskatchewan Party is they’re always late for preparing for something that they know is coming down as law. And there’s no question that this was a promise made by the federal Liberal government when they were elected in 2015.

And this is no surprise, Mr. Speaker, that the cannabis bill is coming forward. And it’s just over the last several weeks that the Saskatchewan Party government has come forward responding to the efforts by the federal government to make this . . . or the plans by the federal government to make cannabis legal throughout the country.

In his remarks Belanger also spoke at length about a related and growing issue: the impact of hard drugs on communities all over Saskatchewan.

Most people know me as being a very, very anti-drug advocate, and I think one of the things that’s really important is that as we pursue the notion around dealing with harder drugs, Mr. Speaker, we have to have two principles in mind. Number one is to recognize and understand the ravages of illicit drug use in all of our families. And many families are being impacted, Mr. Speaker. And the second thing is to not be judgmental, to not judge those that are getting caught up in this particular activity because, Mr. Speaker, many of them are highly valuable people in our province and in our communities, in our groups, in our organizations, in our families.

So it’s important to note that there are many valuable people that just get caught up in this particular activity and that they do need help and they do need understanding in getting themselves off this addiction because, Mr. Speaker, they are very, very valuable Saskatchewan people that we need to make sure that we give them the opportunity to seek that help.

Now, Mr. Speaker, in many of our northern communities . . . And this is why I get a bit angry with the Saskatchewan Party government when they turn around and talk about cannabis and what the federal government is trying to do to our young people, Mr. Speaker. They’ve used that argument before. But, Mr. Speaker, the fact is there’s harder drugs in our community, harder than ever; whether it’s crystal meth or whether it’s cocaine that’s laced with fentanyl, Mr. Speaker, or whether it’s heroin. And what we see is that the current government is not doing anything to help some of these communities combat these harder drugs coming into our schools, coming into our playgrounds, coming into our homes, Mr. Speaker.

We need more action from this government to make sure that there are services available, counselling services to reclaim these people. And there’s nothing coming from this current government, Mr. Speaker, to combat those harder drug challenges that many communities and many families face throughout Saskatchewan.

So I’m going to watch with very close interest, Mr. Speaker, how this government deals with this particular bill. Are they going to run back to their argument that oh, all drugs are evil, and that’s the problem, Mr. Speaker? Absolutely all illicit drugs are bad for the community. Nobody’s arguing that, Mr. Speaker. But the corresponding argument I would have for them is, what are they doing to reclaim the people that are being impacted by illicit drug use? Are they providing counselling services?

And I look at some of my own communities in my constituency, Mr. Speaker — no services whatsoever to help reclaim these families, Mr. Speaker. And the system that is pushing many of these young people towards illicit drug use, Mr. Speaker, there’s no intervention to help. The schools are all alone in trying to stem many of the families being impacted by the harder drugs, as I talked about earlier. And, Mr. Speaker, there is no help for them. Grandparents that are raising young people that are struggling with these addictions, there’s no help for them as well, Mr. Speaker.

And as many of the communities begin to struggle with more and more people getting caught up in the illicit drug use, Mr. Speaker, there’s less and less help from the Government of Saskatchewan. And I say to them, that’s a crying shame because these are Saskatchewan people who are highly valuable, and we should do everything we can to help them recover from this tremendous strain that they’re under, and this terrible and heavy addiction that they have. There’s nothing there to help these families out of that predicament, Mr. Speaker.

And that’s why today, from our perspective, as the federal government legalizes cannabis, we’re not advocating for the use of drugs. That’s not what this is about, Mr. Speaker. We’re saying that if you overcriminalize cannabis, you’re tying up the court system. We must educate, and we must help the people recover. So as we shift gears to the harder drugs and saying, okay, if we don’t overcriminalize cannabis, are we freeing up resources? Are we freeing up valuable resources to combat the heavier and harder drugs that are ravaging our communities? Well, Mr. Speaker, that’s an answer that the Saskatchewan Party government cannot answer today.

And this is the important point that many people in industry are also asking. What are we doing as a society to help those that want to combat the harder drugs out there that are ravaging our communities? Many of the people that we speak to in industry itself talk about those compelling challenges that many families and many communities face across our province. So I think it’s really, really important, Mr. Speaker, that we have this discussion.