Bill Blair’s position shouldn’t exist.
Canada doesn’t need a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, or even a Minster of Justice.
These party hierarchies and bureaucracies have proven their uselessness over the course of the last century.
Case in point, cannabis prohibition, where innocent people go to jail for a plant.
Campaign Justin Trudeau said decriminalization “right away” but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau turns his back and drags his feet and lives large on taxpayer expense.
Meanwhile, Harper-era licensed producers position themselves as the first and only cannabis companies in Canada, while illicit farmers and vendors are subject to criminal intrusions, whether by robbery or police raid.
And as if the Task Farce recommendations weren’t enough, Bill Blair hit the road with Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould and chatted with Canadians about upcoming legalization plans for the spring.
When CLN asked for the itinerary nobody responded. There were no announcements about their specific whereabouts unless you were invited. The meetings were closed to the public.
The cross-country tour met with municipal bureaucrats, police departments, real estate interests, and Canada’s “educators.”
We, the public, only found out about these meetings after they were over and Bill Blair tweeted about it.
Productive meeting with Chief Keetch of the @SaultPolice to talk about how #cannabis regulation will keep our communities safer. pic.twitter.com/L35IgO1ZyN
— Bill Blair (@BillBlair) February 27, 2017
Like when the Task Farce came to town, Blair didn’t make himself available to the stakeholders interested in talking to him, he confined himself with the stakeholders he wanted to talk to.
Illegitimate or the whole point behind having executive power? Blair has to pick and choose, and as an elected representative we’re supposed to trust his judgment.
He can’t talk to everyone that wants to talk to him. The results would be never-ending town hall meetings where adversaries yell and complain about how their ideas aren’t like his ideas.
Depending on your opinions regarding the nuances of democratic rule, Blair’s quick and non-transparent cross-country tour was either eh-okay or more secretive and exclusive than it had to be.
None of this is exactly what cannabis connoisseurs had in mind when most of them mistakenly voted Liberal in the last election.
But this is what happens when politically correct mandatories take precedent over the individual rights of cannabis-consuming Canadians.
Like Justin Trudeau himself said, his government isn’t legalizing cannabis for the people who actually consume it. And for once, I think he may be telling the truth.
John Conroy, the lawyer behind the Allard win and hero to many in the cannabis community, met with Blair and company when they swung by Mission, BC.
His take? “The discussion confirms the xenophobia that continues and I do not expect the government legislation to come anywhere close to what we expect.”
The process will be “baby steps” toward regulation instead of a giant leap for liberty.
But legalization or not — criminal charges for a plant and its derivatives are not just and should not be a priority for law enforcement.