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House Hansard - 132

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 22, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 132 - Nov/22/22
Mr. Kevin Vuong (Spadina—Fort York, Ind.)
  • Nov/22/22 7:08:11 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon colleague for spending his evening with me on this very important matter. As I mentioned last week, Izabela and other parents from my riding of Spadina—Fort York have told me about the proliferation of illegal cannabis shops operating in our community. Many of these illegal stores are using targeted ads and promotion to attract children, and these unscrupulous illegal businesses are also selling copycat edibles that look like candy. However, some of the products have actually poisoned children. The problem exists because there has been a serious lack of enforcement of the many regulations that legitimate Canadian cannabis businesses must follow. Ignoring these rules has allowed the black market to flourish. Many of these illegal businesses make upwards of $50,000 a day, according to some reports. Most are operating 24-7, selling their unregulated and contaminated products that, and I cannot emphasize it enough, target children. Some have even set up businesses right across the street from a school. Some parents have tried to organize against these illegal cannabis shops, but they have been warned to stay quiet or face retaliation. People are also afraid to even sign a petition against these operations using their real names, and they only do so anonymously. Parents are left feeling threatened, helpless and hopeless. The growth in these illegal businesses is unacceptable and very dangerous to our youth. Moreover, the millions that are gained from selling illegal cannabis is often used to buy firearms and fund organized criminal activities, major crimes like money laundering and human trafficking. While I commend police in Spadina—Fort York, especially 14 Division, for their work in trying to shut down these illegal stores, they cannot do it alone. I hope the federal government will assist police in closing these illegal operations, so I want to ask my hon. colleague what the government is prepared to do to crack down on these illegal pot shops.
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Context: House Hansard - 132 - Nov/22/22
Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport, Lib.)
  • Nov/22/22 7:10:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his conscientious concern on this issue and his consistency and advocacy on behalf of his constituent Izabela, whom I have also heard from on Twitter. I would also like to take a moment to thank Izabela for her community advocacy and her concern, particularly for youth and their health in Toronto. The Cannabis Act is there to protect the health and safety of Canadians while serving as a flexible legislative framework that adapts and responds to the ongoing and emerging needs of Canadians and helps displace the illegal cannabis market. The act also established a national framework to strictly regulate and to restrict youth access to cannabis in Canada, and under the Cannabis Act, federal, provincial and territorial governments share responsibility for overseeing cannabis production, distribution and sale in Canada. It is the responsibility of the provinces and territories to determine how cannabis is distributed and sold in their jurisdictions. This includes establishing rules concerning how cannabis can be sold, the location of stores, the eligibility conditions for working in cannabis distribution and cannabis retail outlets. The government shares the concerns regarding illegal cannabis sales, which is why the Cannabis Act contains strict penalties for those who sell illegal cannabis, which includes the sale of cannabis to minors. Individuals convicted of illegally selling or distributing cannabis are subject to sanctions, including those set out in the act, which range from fines to imprisonment for up to 14 years. Government departments across Canada are working closely together to address illegal cannabis sales. Federal, provincial and territorial governments and law enforcement agencies all work closely together to disrupt the illegal cannabis market and inform Canadians about the health risks of these unregulated products. Law enforcement plays a critical role in directly supporting the purposes of the act. The act provides law enforcement with the authority to take action against illegal cannabis retail sales and hold those who operate outside the legal framework accountable. We have invested in public education campaigns to educate Canadians about the risks of illegal cannabis and how to recognize the difference between legal and illegal cannabis, including the packaging. The government launched the “Reduce your risk: Choose legal cannabis” campaign in May 2022. Additionally, in response to reports of the accidental ingestion of illegal edible cannabis products by children, Health Canada has issued two advisories to raise public awareness of the dangers associated with illegal cannabis products. The most recent advisory included images of illegal cannabis products to show Canadians how similar some of the products look to popular name-brand snack foods, and tips for recognizing legally sourced cannabis. We also provided guidance on how to store cannabis securely to prevent access by children and youth. The government will continue to support its provincial and territorial partners, as well as law enforcement agencies in the fight against the illegal sale of cannabis. We remain determined to take measures to prevent young people from having access to cannabis, to protect the health and safety of Canadians from untested and unregulated products and to eliminate the illegal cannabis market. I would like to thank the member for his attention to this important concern and underscore that this is fundamentally a matter of shared jurisdiction across all levels of government, in this case municipally with the Toronto Police Service, provincially with the OPP and provincial licensure of sales licences, and of course federally as I have laid out today in this response.
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