Trudeau presses for legal marijuana as Senate wavers
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pressing ahead with a goal of legalizing recreational marijuana in Canada within months, as senators push for changes and a delay of as much as a year.
The government’s pot law is working its way through the Senate, where a trio of lawmaker reports has last week called for changes or a delay. While the government didn’t welcome or rule out an extension, there’s little sign it will pump the brakes. Trudeau says the push will continue as scheduled, and a spokesman said the health minister looks forward to a final Senate vote June 7.
“We are going to bring in legalization as we’ve committed to this summer, on schedule,” Trudeau said in Ottawa last week, as quoted by Bloomberg. “Make no mistake – this is a public health and public safety issue that we committed to in the election campaign.”
The comments came as Canada’s Senate – which has become more unpredictable, but is the less-influential of the two federal chambers – reviews the law ahead of a vote expected next month, one that would tee up the legal market’s opening for late summer or early fall. The senator sponsoring the bill said there’s room for the government to address some of the concerns without delaying it.
Several Senate committees studying the bill are making non-binding recommendations. The nation’s real estate broker lobbying group has argued that the law should be delayed until building codes are changed to account for home growers.
Read more: OREA urges stricter rules for former grow-ops
With legalization just over the horizon, the nation’s commercial real estate segment is well on its way to becoming an economic powerhouse.
For instance, the Okanagan Valley is now playing host to several current and proposed cannabis production facilities – and the heating up of the region’s commercial/industrial market is expected to only go further.
Wholesale cannabis company Green Mountain Health Alliance has recently purchased a 16-acre private property off Highway 3A in Kaleden. The parcel could soon house a 200,000-square-foot production facility. The firm is hoping to become a licensed producer to grow 10,000 kilograms of marijuana every year.
Meanwhile, Edmonton’s transportation links, conducive regulatory regime, and abundant sunshine and water will make it a major cannabis hub worth upwards of $100 million annually, according to a city business official.
Senior business specialist Brad White said on late April that a mature Edmonton marijuana market could open new jobs for as much as 2,000 people in a few short years, paving the way for the diversification of the local economy.
