Canada’s premiers (minus BC’s John Horgan) recently met in Edmonton to discuss a variety of things, like how to end the opioid crisis while making prescription drugs easier to get and even subsidized by taxpayers.
They also talked about how Canadians in the Far North don’t eat well enough (I wonder if they discussed how Amazon Prime is doing a better job than decades of government intervention).
The premiers also discussed cannabis legalization.
So let’s travel East to West and see what each Canadian premier thinks about cannabis in Canada.
A New Maritime Union
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil spoke for the Maritimes, referring to their small size and population.
The Maritime economies have always been connected, their distances short enough and their populations small enough to retain a sense of community. That the premier believes there should be “uniform regulations across our respective provinces,” is understandable.
But then he jumps the gun and says he thinks this could lead to nationwide regulations.
Which is why he should stick to his own backyard. What works in the Liberal-loving Maritimes doesn’t always work elsewhere.
New Brunswick Gets It… Sort of…?
Nevertheless, New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant said legalized cannabis could be an “economic opportunity” for the provinces.
Of course, that’s after the province regulates it to death. So what exactly does Gallant mean by “economic opportunity?”
Remember, this was the province that gave OrganiGram $990K.
And how’s that “investment” turned out so far?
You can’t create wealth by taxing people first. There are unseen consequences and real repercussions.
Business as Usual for Quebec
They shut down Cannabis Culture shops in Montreal, but come July 2018, you’ll be able to purchase from licensed producers no problem.
This is how most of the country is shaping up to look. Except for all the stores in Quebec will be in French.
Leftist Radicalism
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne deserves no recognition for anything but leftist destruction and chaos.
The inefficiency of state power isn’t a “white male privilege” thing, it’s got nothing to do with gender or sexual orientation or race — it’s economics.
But more so, if you regard the modern state as a way of transcending one’s individuality for the greater good, then it makes perfect sense to centrally plan all human activity and ignore evidence to the contrary that this doesn’t work.
Therefore, when it comes to cannabis legalization, Kathleen Wynne’s core belief is that “We have to keep people safe.”
Her statist footprint goes beyond mere public policy. There is a fringe radical movement on the left that’s taken over the Ontario Liberal Party and now they’re in Ottawa.
When it comes to cannabis in Ontario, all one needs to remember is that they made money off prohibition and now they expect to make money from legalization.
It’s got nothing to do with your right to grow or enter the market.
Hodge-Podge Hot Potato
Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister thinks Justin’s Liberals should wait until July 2019 to legalize cannabis.
He’s also in favour of avoiding a “hodge-podge” of provincial regulations.
“I would hope we could learn from [10 different provincial alcohol models] and not re-create that for cannabis.”
He’s annoyed that all distribution responsibilities are being passed down to the provincial level. He doesn’t want the potential health issues and public safety micro-aggressions.
And what about cannabis impairment and driving? Muh roads! Muh provincial roads!
“There are too many unanswered questions, too many issues that have not been addressed for us to rush into what is an historic change,” he told the media.
Exactly, Pallister. You can’t centrally plan your way to liberty and prosperity, so please, politely, step out of the way.
If you wish to pass the buck to someone else, free the markets and let insurance companies and the RCMP deal with the aftermath.
Play it by ear, Pallister. Don’t be afraid.
Moving Parts
“Lots of moving parts,” Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall told reporters. But the anti-carbon tax crusader balked at provincial cannabis hegemony. “Could we have greater continuity in this? It would be desirable but hard to pull off in a short period of time.”
Can’t miss the forest for the trees if you don’t have a forest
Never-mind that farming hemp would do wonders for the Albertan economy.
Since the NDP lean heavily to the left, why not go the populist route and raise taxes on large corporations but completely eliminate property taxes for family farms and smaller businesses?
Why not raise taxes on “the rich” but completely eliminate income taxes for lower and middle classes?
Then they could go to Ottawa and say: “you tell Health Canada to relax all the regs on hemp and the kind of equalization money you’ll pull from this place… it’ll make your head spin. It’s like that.”
But instead, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said that if the federal government takes a hands-off approach the provinces “will need more time to implement the federal government’s decision,” to legalize cannabis distribution.
Because that’s all the Liberals have told the provinces to do.
Justin will deal with the growers, the children, the propaganda about consumption, the “black market” – all you gotta do is regulate distribution.
Feel free to go as strict as tobacco, or as lenient as alcohol, or a mixture of both. It’s really up to you. The sky’s the limit. It’s not at all difficult.
These premiers are a bunch of whiners.
What about BC?
Since Horgan wasn’t in attendance, I reached out to the new BC government. That information is forth coming.
The BC file is a whole separate issue, really.
Deserves its own blog post, or two, or three, or 245.