Mediaboss Marketing

The MPP for Nipissing says hospitals in the north cant take any more cuts. Vic Fedeli says the Wynne Liberals have cut so many healthcare workers over the years that they`ve created a danger zone for hospitals. You just don`t have enough people to take care of patient requirements,` Fedeli said. We want to see the patient come first. Fedeli says several weeks ago when he and Patrick Brown toured Northeastern Ontario, many hospital administrators told them of their funding freezes. Its an issue the Tory MPP knows all too well having seen 350 frontline hospital workers fired in his riding over time. Were at the point that we dont have the same level of healthcare in the north thats available in Southern Ontario, he said.

However, Fedeli adds the Liberals have a chance to correct this deficiency with this Thursdays budget. Hes hopeful that theyre listening to northern cries but he doesnt know what to expect. As an example, he says in last years budget the Liberals boasted about adding $350-million to healthcare. But then you go a few more pages into the budget and you learn that they also removed $107-million from OLG (funds) that went to health, he said. He says that means the $350-million addition was actually $243-million. Fedeli says enough is enough and stresses the Liberals need to address the health question shortfalls this week.

Read more here:
Fedeli hopes Liberals restore healthcare dollars in budget - My North Bay Now

How would you ideologically classify a political party that ran on a platform of tax cuts and balanced budgets? Youd probably say you need a bit more information, given cutting taxes and balancing budgets are hardly distinctive ideas. In Canadas 2011 election, for instance, Jack Laytons NDP, Michael Ignatieffs Liberals and Stephen Harpers Conservatives all ran promising to pursue this agenda, as have a rainbow of parties at the provincial level.

If I added that this theoretical party supports a carbon tax, safe injection sites for heroin addicts, and legalized marijuana, but opposes a major pipeline, you might think were in comfortably left-wing territory.

Well, youd be wrong, at least according to the Canadian news media, who have decided the ruling Liberal Party of British Columbia currently fighting for their fifth term in office are actually a party of the right. Read any mainstream coverage or analysis of B.C. politics and youll come across references to the centre right, right-of-centre, or right-leaning Liberals. No less an authority than The New York Times spoke of Premier Christy Clarks conservative British Columbia Liberal Party. The Vancouver Sun has started using Tory blue for the Liberals in their polling graphics, while a premier-ranking study from Vancouver think tank Aha! grouped B.C.s Liberal premiers in with other provinces Tory leaders on the grounds they were small c-conservative.

Its forgivable on some level. The press needs a firm party of the right fighting a firm party of the left to create compelling political drama. If youre a partisan of the NDP B.C.s provincial opposition its similarly in your interests to portray Liberals and Conservatives as interchangeable oppressors of the proletariat, as NDPers have been doing since Tommy Douglas first yarned about mice voting for cats.

Yet to call the B.C. Liberals conservatives because theyve experienced occasional bouts of fiscal responsibility, appeased business interests, or annoyed unions the sole evidence proponents of this theory point to requires broadening the philosophy of conservatism to the point of uselessness. The Saskatchewan NDP closed schools and hospitals across the province during the 1990s. Were they right-wing? The Alberta Conservatives ran six deficit budgets in a row. Was that centre-left? Is Dalton McGuinty a small-c conservative because a teachers strike occurred during his reign?

As Stephen Harper himself put it in a 2003 speech on ideology if conservatives accept all legislated social liberalism with balanced budgets and corporate grants then there really are no differences between a conservative and a Paul Martin.

The B.C. Liberals, for their part, have never fully played along with the right-wing role theyve been assigned. When I interviewed Christy Clark back in 2004 she called herself a middle-of-the-road Liberal, emphasizing shed been a provincial Liberal when we used to get 5per centof the vote (theres a popular urban legend that the B.C. Liberals are a new party or even the renamed B.C. Social Credit Party in reality, theyve been contesting elections since the 19th century). That said, Clarks Liberals are savvy enough to grasp a good thing when they see it. In their propaganda, they refer to themselves as a free market coalition welcoming anyone anti-NDP. The party uses the four colours of the B.C. flag red, white, blue and yellow in their branding, rather than one traditionally partisan colour, to push the notion that they transcend classification.

And it works, in the sense surveys generally show the partys base is roughly split between federal Conservative and Liberal voters, who tend to see in the party whatever they want. A recent Insights West poll had 49per centof federal Conservative voters describing the B.C. Libs as a right or centre-right party, while 37per centof federal Liberals called it left-wing or centrist. A narrow majority of British Columbians see them as either left-wing, centrist, or cant answer the question. Over 20per centof NDP voters, meanwhile, call it far-right.

Someone has to be wrong here. The B.C. Liberals can be called right wing by the press and even other conservatives, but if they reach this conclusion without using a strict, objective standard, the label simply makes British Columbias political debate lazy and incoherent.

Sloppiness with the right-wing label can also be rather unfair to the B.C. NDP, it must be said, since it defines their own leftism in such a crude and caricatured way. The B.C. NDP does not hate low taxes or love the idea of being fiscally irresponsible indeed, the party actually opposed the two most significant tax increases of the Liberal reign Premier Gordon Campbells 2008 carbon tax and his governments subsequent harmonized sales tax (overturned by referendum in 2011). The Liberals often creatively-calculated balanced budgets, meanwhile, mask a reliance on debt, unsurprising, given their election platforms including the current one tend to be brimming with conventionally big-LLiberal promises to spend more doing everything.

B.C.s former opposition leader, Adrian Dix, once complained that the partisan split in B.C. was like comparing Coke to Pepsi. If the B.C. NDP finds its way back to power next month, the outcome may prove far more meaningful for the party than the province.

National Post

J.J. McCullough is a political commentator and artist living in Vancouver.

Continued here:
Christy Clark's BC Liberals are left, right and centre, but they sure aren't 'conservative' - National Post

When Roger Ailes discussed advancing Alisyn Camerotas career at Fox News Channel, he suggested a special location for his personal journalistic tutoring.

It might have to happen in a hotel, the Fox boss said. Do you know what Im saying?

Yes, she did. She spoke of this moment on Reliable Sources on CNN Sunday morning in a conversation with host Brian Stelter. Camerota now works at CNN. Ailes left as Fox News emperor last summer in a sexual harassment scandal.

I knew in my head at that moment that Im never going to that hotel under any circumstances, Camerota recalled of her conversation with Ailes. . . . And I remember vividly that I had sort of an out-of-body experience hovering over us in the office and thinking Is this it? Is this the end of my time here? Will I be fired if I dont do this?

A different sexual harassment scandal led to the departure last week of Foxs Bill OReilly, the host of The OReilly Factor, the highest-rated program on the highest-rated cable news channel.

The Mad Men culture of sexual coercion grew at the right-wing outlet in the 20 years that Ailes, OReilly and other brilliant but diabolical propagandists pushed racial and religious resentment along with reactionary rage to a frightened and dwindling white American middle class.

Along with help from Russian spies, Foxs distorted but powerful world view provided the momentum for a takeover of the entire government of the United States last fall by radicals and grifters under the impulsive and vindictive leadership of amateur President Donald Trump.

Like OReilly and Ailes, Trump has denied all charges of sexual misconduct, even the stuff hes bragged about. These three men of power have been allies, collaborators and friends for decades. Small world, huh?

Camerota said the harassment by Ailes was humiliating . . . embarrassing, demeaning. She said after she rejected his sexual proposition, Ailes switched to emotional harassment based on her unwillingness to say the things he wanted us to say during Foxs biased and fear-mongering reports.

I didnt share his world view, Camerota said. And he said Youre not saying the conservative things I want you to say. Seeking objectivity, she said she asked Ailes Isnt this supposed to be Fair and Balanced, which is Foxs ludicrous motto.

There is no other side, Ailes told her.

Camerota said she avoided being alone with Ailes in his office.

He would boom and bellow at me about how I was getting it wrong, she said.

Of the overall toxic culture at Fox, she said There was a lot of suffering in silence and people who felt humiliated and people who felt scared and people who felt intimidated.

It has been reported that a federal investigation of Fox is underway in Manhattan regarding the reporting of payments to female victims of Ailes and OReilly, because that hush money may have been reported falsely as compensation, a trick that could mislead investors.

Stelter devoted the first 39 minutes of his one-hour show to the news about Fox News. One highlight came early when Stelter showed a video clip of OReilly in 2004 explaining why big-shot stars like himself must be wary of chicks, dames and broads.

I think that the sexual harassment thing is used as a club, as I said, by many women, all right? OReilly said. Its something they have against men, a threat to keep men at bay.

MEDIA BUZZ: The Wisdom of Brother Tucker

Around the middle of his one-hour show on Fox, host Howard Kurtz found about eight minutes for the OReilly story, much of it hyping Foxs new prime-time schedule.

Tucker Carlson Tonight will move from the 9 p.m. hour to OReillys old 8 p.m. hour. The Five, a panel chat, moves from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sean Hannity remains at 10 p.m. to puff up and fluff up Trump.

In that the pre-recorded shows of OReilly and Hannity in recent months have been canned, stale and predictable, Kurtz saw a silver lining for the folks who sign his paychecks.

More live programming at night is a good thing in this breaking news environment, Kurtz said.

His super-duper, extra-special guest wasSurprise!Tucker Carlson himself, who addressed the Murkin people.

Liberals like war, Brother Tucker said. Its true.

THIS WEEK: Sessions sets you straight

Trumps henchmen dont always know the difference between strong and strict versus cruel and mean.

An example is Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, who spoke to ABC host George Stephanopoulos.

Trump has said the Dreamers can rest easy, although there have been detentions of some of these immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as undocumented children and grew up American.

STEHANOPOULOS: So, can they rest easy?

SESSIONS: Well, well see. I believe that everyone that enters the country unlawfully is subject to being deported. However, we dont have the ability to round up everybody and theres no plans to do this.

Sessions also pushed for Trumps delusional wall on the Mexican border which, Sessions says, will keep drugs and criminals Mexicans on the other side.

You sound quite confident, Stephanopoulos said. Do you have any evidence that Mexicos going to pay for it?

(This was one of Trumps campaign threats).

Well, Sessions said, were gonna get it paid for one way or the other.

Sessions last week ridiculed the state of Hawaii as some island in the Pacific where a federal judge there dared to rule against Trumps religiously bigoted Muslim ban.

Why not just call it the state of Hawaii? the host asked.

Heh-heh-heh, Sessions said. N-nobody has a sense of humor anymore.

Another guest was radio talk-show goofball Bill Cunningham, from Cincinnati.

Donald Trump is a rock star, Cunningham said. We love Donald J. Trump.

A third right-winger was Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, who said Donald Trump is the most divisive president since Abraham Lincoln. He represents an alternative world . . . You have two parallel universes here.

STATE OF THE UNION: Dana Bash subbed for host Jake Tapper on CNN and had a tough time keeping her panelists from talking over each other. One of the louder ones was Darrell Issa, the Republican Congressman from southern California, who offered only faint praise for The Great Leader.

The people in my district who did vote for me have some doubts at times about certain aspects of the Presidents behavior, Issa said. But Ill tell ya something: They dont have any question that hes appointed good people.

Another Republican House member to drop in was Mark Sanford of South Carolina, a member of the so-called Freedom Caucus (whatever that means). They blocked the attempt by Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan to destroy American health insurance.

Under the half-baked and failed Republican plan, about to be resurrected, the Republicans would take healthcare money away from poor and sick people and give it instead to healthy and wealthy people in the form of fat tax cuts.

Sanford didnt appreciate Trumps threat to back a primary candidate against him in 2018.

Those kinds of threats are counter-productive, he said. I dont work for him.

In defense of Sanford, it must be noted that the Freedom Caucus opposed Trumpcare not because it attacked peoples health insurance but because it wouldnt do enough damage.

FACE THE NATION: Who, exactly, are the bad dudes?

During the campaign, Trump often railed against bad dudes and bad hombres that he would send back to Mexico. So host John Dickerson on CBS asked Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly about the Dreamers caught up in the increasing amount of immigration busts.

They dont fit into the category of `bad dudes, Dickerson said. But theyre still being deported, anyway.

Kelly explained that sometimes the deportation cops find their targetan undocumented immigrant convicted of a crimein the company of five, six seven other people who, Kelly said, cant produce some form of proof of American citizenship but are otherwise without crime.

These are the kind of people Trump, Sessions and Kelly will deport if they come across them while persecuting someone else.

People fall into our hands incidentally, he said.

FOX NEWS SUNDAY: And whos gonna pay for it?

Host Chris Wallace interviewed Mick Mulvaney, Trumps director of the Office of Management and Budget. In that Trump has vaguely threatened to shut down the government or deny medical insurance subsidies to the poor if he doesnt get at least a $1 billion down payment from Congress to start his wall on the Mexican border, Wallace asked Mulvaney Will he sign a government-funding bill that does not include funding for the border wall?

Mulvaney replied, in part, We dont know yet.

WALLACE: Can he back down on the border wall given the fact that youve set this up?

MULVANEY: Sure. Let me put it to you this way: I like you. Ive met you a couple times. Im not going to negotiate with you on national television on Sunday. Well negotiate with the Democrats.

Another elected Republican not bowing to Trump is Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, who has called for Trump to release his tax returns, as he promised in the campaign.

The president should be able to keep his word, Lankford told Wallace. This will be a distraction to his presidency all the way through . . . He said he was going to do it.

Even Karl Rove himself questioned the tactics of Trump, who keeps belching out promises to do major things quickly, easily and just as he commands.

This town doesnt work that way, Rove said of Washington. You may be able to cut a real-estate deal that way, but you cant govern the country that way.

Agreeing was Charles Lane of The Washington Post who said This is a guy who very often used the word quickly. He presented himself as somebody who had these extraordinary capabilities to transcend . . . normal politics.

MEET THE PRESS: None of your business

Host Chuck Todd on NBC welcomed Reince Priebus, Trumps chief of staff, who said the public has no right to know the names of the members of Trumps country clubs for millionaires in Florida and New Jersey.

Those members, Todd said, have access to Trump and his staff on Trumps frequent and expensive golf trips. Camp David, where most presidents spend many weekends, is not up to Trumps glitzy standards

Priebus said not to expect Trump to release names of fat cats who pay big bucks to schmooze with the Trump gang.

No, I dont think its anyI mean, this is the private business, its a private organization, its a private club, Priebus said. Of Trump, Priebus added Hes the boss.

Reliable conservative Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal expressed amazement at the chaos and random policies of the Trump administration.

This sense of confusion, she said. Is the White House really talking to the Congress? Is there really a tax bill thats being put together? I mean, a sense of Wow! Whats going on here?

In reference the ousting of OReilly from Fox, Noonan said I dont know what was in the water over there, but it wasnt good, it was poisonous. And Im glad theyre doing environmental cleanup.

More here:
Deep Weekend Thoughts From Fox News Frat Boy: 'Liberals Like War' - Observer

When the governing BC Liberals campaigned ahead of the 2013 election, they promised to connect every British Columbian with a family doctor. The partys platform set aside $132-million for the GP for Me program to help an estimated 200,000 people who wanted a family doctor but couldnt get one.

The program failed to meet those targets, and now the provinces doctor shortage is again becoming a campaign issue. Platforms for both the Liberals and the New Democrats include promises designed to address the problem.

But evaluating those proposals and measuring their success will depend in part on defining the scope of the problem. And that hinges on how the numbers are calculated.

The NDP, which is proposing building team-based urgent-care centres, estimates that there are 700,000 people without a family doctor, with about 200,000 still looking for one. The Liberals, who are promising to increase the number of graduating doctors and fund community-based health care, havent offered their own assessment, but the GP for Me website says the program connected 178,000 people who did not have a family physician with one. However, it also says that between 2013 and 2016, the population of B.C. increased by 162,600.

The NDPs statistics are in line with results from the Canadian Community Health Survey, conducted by Statistics Canada in 2015.

Lindsay Hedden, a postdoctoral fellow at UBCs School of Population and Public Health, said that although this number is not ideal, its not surprising.

British Columbia is exactly on the Canadian average, Dr. Hedden said. If it is a problem, it is not a problem that is unique to B.C.

The Statscan survey estimated the number of people in B.C. without a regular doctor was closer to 745,000. The survey estimated nearly 40 per cent or about 290,000 either could not find a doctor in their area taking patients or had a doctor who left or retired.

The rest were people who either hadnt tried finding a doctor, didnt think they needed one or had some other reason for being without a regular health-care provider.

But Dr. Hedden said they cant be ignored when measuring whats happening.

Its not a simple answer, the gap between the two is a complex group of individuals, Dr. Hedden said.

I think the biggest explanation is that those people just dont feel the need for one. They rather navigate the system with walk-in clinics when they need it.

This isnt to say they dont want a family doctor, Dr. Hedden said, but it just may not be worth it to them.

Its a balancing act for the amount of effort it takes to find a GP and the amount that one will use one. I would be surprised if there was a significant number who would say, no I dont want a GP, she said.

There is also a subpopulation of people that would be interested in finding a health-care worker but dont have the computer skills to navigate the website.

There is evidence, Dr. Hedden says, to suggest there are fewer family physicians per capita in lower socioeconomic groups, but a greater number of walk-in clinics.

NDP spokesman James Smith said even people who are not considered to be actively seeking a family doctor are likely to need one in the future and are not receiving regular care, which could have long-term effects on their health [such as] prevention and screenings.

The GP for Me program was created to connect more people and communities with physicians and clinics that were accepting new patients, with the goal of matching every patient that wanted a family doctor. It is still up and running, though the Liberals make no mention of it in their 2017 platform.

The Liberals did not make anyone available for an interview, instead providing a statement outlining their platform. The party is promising to spend $90-million over three years to bring integrated team-based primary-care services into more communities.

Follow us on Twitter: @GlobeBC

Original post:
BC's doctor shortage becomes campaign issue for province's Liberals and NDP - The Globe and Mail

There will be both a lot of risk and a lot of reward at stake for the Liberals in their plan to legalize recreational marijuana in Canada by the summer of 2018, sayHill insiders and political players.

On the upside, the successful execution of a legalized regime in time for the next federal election will be seen as a win for the Liberals. But between now and then, a lot has to be worked out;from regulations with the provinces, to how the Senate will take to the bill, not to mention how public opinion evolves on the issue.

Will Stewart, a former Conservative staffer at Queens Park and managing partner at Navigator Ltd., who represents a number of clients in the cannabis industry, said there is both a lot of risk and a lot of reward at stake for the Liberal government in legalizing recreational cannabis.

If and when the legalization package passes, further hurdles could come for the government in the form of potential court challenges, said Mr. Stewart, pointing to early questions raised over the constitutionality of changes around impaired driving laws.

At the end of the day, I think the bill that weve seen will pass relatively unchanged through the House. I think the big risk here of this bill is in the Senate and all the uncertainties that come with the independent Liberals of the Senate, the Independent Senators, and the Conservative Senators that still make up a huge block of votes in the Senate. Thats where a huge amount of uncertainty will be for this piece of legislation, said Mr. Stewart.

Several sourcesThe Hill Timesspoke with pointed to legalized marijuana as part of a progressive Liberal election platform that brought in a new group of young voters into the electoral process for the first time, who will be key to the partys continued success.

However, Mr. Stewart and others pointed out that legalized pot might not be embraced by many new and first-generation Canadians, where the Liberals also found a lot of support in the 2015 election.

We know that some of the cultural communities are certainly a little bit more conservative in their outlook on this, but if you ask someone from the same cultural community who was born here or raised here how they feel about it, they might be just as happy to light up a joint as anybody else, said Angus Reid Institute executive director Shachi Kurl.

And by the time the October 2019 election rolls around, Canadians will be able to judge the reality of legalized marijuana, not just the idea.

Whether its the Affordable Care Act in the United States or the Phoenix pay system, sometimes new systems do not roll out perfectly, said Greg MacEachern, a former Liberal Hill staffer and senior vice-president of Environics Communications.

Liberal MP Bill Blair (Scarborough Southwest, Ont.), a former police chief who is also the lead federal political player on the legalization of marijuana as parliamentary secretary to the Justice minister, toldThe Hill Timesthat theres a lot of work to do in bringing about these changes and doing it right.

He added that the target date for implementationJuly 1, 2018is attainable.

The fact that there may be political risk in this I think is superseded by the fact that we need to do a better job of protecting our kids and we need to do a better job of keeping our communities safe. So a certain amount of political risk is acceptable. I think thats what Canadians expect of us in order to do whats right, he said.

On April 13, the government introduced two pieces of legislation in its effort to legalize marijuana. The first, Bill C-45, otherwise known as the Cannabis Act, creates a legal framework controlling the production, distribution, possession, safety standards, and sale of marijuana that would allow adults in Canada to legally possess and use small amounts of recreational marijuana from licensed providers. It also creates new Criminal Code offencesin some cases punishable by up to 14 years in prisonfor selling or giving marijuana to minors, though there will be no criminal offence for youth who possess small amounts of legal pot. It would allow adults to posses up to 30 grams and grow up to four plants at home.

The second bill, Bill C-46, or An Act to amend the Criminal Code (offences relating to conveyances), revamps Canadas current impaired driving laws to make it illegal to drive within two hours of having had an illegal level of intoxicants in your blood, and gives law enforcement new powers to request roadside tests for intoxication.

The plan to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana in Canada is one of the most significant public policy changes pursued by afederal government in recent memory, said Mr. MacEachern.

Were the second country to do this [after Uruguay] but really the first major government to introduce this. This is brand-new territory, he said.

Mr. MacEachern called the announcement of the marijuana legislation one of the governments best days thus far in 2017. It showed a government calm and in control of a major policy shift.

He said the government appears to be erring on the side of caution and trying to establish that this was a very thoughtful process and one that they didnt take lightly.

He noted the governments choice of wording, discussing strict control and risks associated, is seemingly aimed at those who arent so sure about it.

Joe Jordan, a former Liberal MP and senior associate at Bluesky Strategy Group, said there were two ways the Liberals could have played thiscoming out in tie-dye T-shirts or in Mountie uniforms, and they went with the Mountie uniform.

They were clearly putting a fence around this to alleviate fears that the country was going to turn into one great big Woodstock concert, he said, adding that the message was received that its not going to be a free for all.

This is a winner for them. I dont think there is any political risk in it at all. I think theyre on solid ground there, said Mr. Jordan, a former Liberal MP.

According to polling data released by Angus Reid on April 20, 63 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they favour of the marijuana legalization legislation, which shows a growing shift in public support for legalized marijuana. In 2001, polls showed less than half of Canadians agreed with recreational pot being legal. But even now, 31 per cent of respondent said cannabis legalization is a bad idea.

Angus Reids Ms. Kurl said the Liberals have likely scored a win on this with younger voters by keeping a key election promise, but theres risk in being able to competently manage what is going to be a really big transition in how law enforcement, how the legal system, how society adapts to and transitions to this new reality.

The recent poll numbers showed that people aged 18 to 34 and British Columbians were the most supportive of the bill, while Quebecers and people aged 55 years and up are the least on-board. The research also found that large majorities in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada feel age restrictions should be higher than the proposed federal minimum of 18.

As well, 66 per cent of people surveyed said they dont think the legalization plan will stop young people from using.

Blair continuing as frontman, Wilson-Raybould, Philpott, Goodale to work in lockstep

Sources said Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould (Vancouver Granville, B.C.) and her department took the lead on drafting the legislation, and she will continue to take the lead on it, including fielding questions in the House. Mr. Blair will continue to be the public-facing lead for the Liberals on this public policy issue.

Already Mr. Blair has travelled across Canada to meet with senior provincial and territorial officials, police and fire chiefs, bylaw enforcement, and public health officials, among others. He said he expects many departments to have officials get involved in the ongoing talks, including Global Affairs, Finance Canada, Labour, and the regional development agencies.

All of them will have issues that will need to be addressed, Mr. Blair said.

Health Minister Jane Philpott (Markham-Souffville, Ont.) and Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Ralph Goodale (Regina-Wascana, Sask.) also have ongoing roles to play alongside their Justice counterparts in shepherding the bill through cabinet and caucus.

Health Canada has set up a Secretariat for Cannabis Legalization and Regulation that will be leading the process at that department. As well, this years federal budget earmarked $9.6-million over five years for a public-education and awareness campaign on marijuana.

Ms. Philpott is expected to answer health-centered questions on Bill C-45. Mr. Goodale will be concerning himself primarily with the border questions related to the new regime and how the U.S. administration will deal with Canadian travellers. It will continue to be illegal to transport marijuana over the border.

Mr. Blair said the biggest challenge will be getting the provinces and territories all on board and on the same or similar pages when it comes to the regulatory frameworks.

Each of the regions have different perspectives and priorities with respect to this issue and so working within that is a challenge, he said. But I think its an appropriate challenge and were committed to doing it right.

Mr. Blair said a considerable amount of discussion has taken place with the senior levels of government in the provinces and territories, and this will continue.

With so much left to be determined, its expected that lobbying of provincial governments by marijuana producers will spike.

Global Public Affairs Darrell Dexter, the former Nova Scotia premier who is leading the firms cannabis service, toldThe Hill Timesthat the federal governments approach is generally in line with what the industry wants, and said he thinks completing the process by the governments intended timeline is doable.

There will be some rough edges in the legislation that will need to be sanded off through the process, and thats entirely normal, Mr. Dextersaid.

Mr. Stewart said his sense is that plans at the provincial levels are more robust than what those governments are letting on in the press.

For provinces with elections set to take place between now and July 2018, including Ontario and BritishColumbia, Mr. MacEachern said he expects theyll wait until the election is passed to move on regulation plans.

If provinces and territories dont have a retail framework for recreational marijuana in place by the time legalization takes effect, the federal law sets it up so that consumers from those places can buy it through a mail system similar to the one used for medical marijuana.

Red Chamber is where the big risks lie

With a majority in the House of Commons, the governments biggest challenge getting it through wont be with MPs, but rather with the Senate, insiders said.

Mr. Blair said both Bill C-45 and C-46 are priority bills and hell be advocating for early progress on them. But he said its difficult to predict how far theyll get before June, when the House is scheduled to rise for the summer.

Mr. Stewart raised the possibility the government will prorogue Parliament this summer, as has been speculated. He said it makes a lot of sense, politically, to do so halfway through a mandate. But he added it would kill the legislation and probably make it impossible to hit the July 2018 timeline.

Whether or not prorogation this summer would hobble marijuana legalization efforts would likely depend on how far legislation gets in the House by the end of the June session, with a maximum of seven sitting weeks to go. If it doesnt get past second reading, reintroduction would likely be less of a setback. As has been done in the past, the House could give unanimous consent to reinstate a bill in the new session at the same stage it was at before prorogation.

Mr. Stewart said he expects the bills to make it to the Senate relatively unchanged. He said the Red Chamber is where the big risks lie, and where the most lobbying effect could still be had.

With the independent Liberals of the Senate, the Independent Senators, the Conservative Senators that still make up a huge block of votes in the Senate, thats where a huge amount of the uncertainty will be, said Mr. Stewart.

Its expected the directors of parliamentary affairs for each of the ministers involved will also be making efforts to engage with Senators individually.

Mr. Blair said theres a good understanding from the Parliamentarians hes spoken with that they cant delay unnecessarily.

Sources say there has been no negative reaction to the marijuana legislation from within the Liberal caucus, and that what was announced wouldnt have been a surprise to anyone who had been speaking with Mr. Blair in the lead-up to the bills tabling, or who had read the Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulations report.

raiello@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times

See the rest here:
Marijuana legalization presents both potential political risks and gains for Liberals, say insiders - Hill Times (subscription)