Hon. Jean-Guy Dagenais: Good afternoon, minister. I will be speaking to you about the oversight of cannabis producers. Your Prime Minister justified the legalization of marijuana by saying it would undermine organized crime. However, police chiefs and even the RCMP believe that organized crime has hijacked the production of medical cannabis for its own benefit and that Health Canada has lost control of licences.

You are the Minister of Justice. I do not want you to shirk your responsibility by saying that this falls under the purview of Health Canada. We are talking about organized crime here. You are going to tell me that your duty is to protect citizens. What will you do to regain control of the situation?

Hon. Jean-Guy Dagenais: Still on the topic of organized crime taking advantage of gaps in the legislation, some Canadians are persistently trying to smuggle cannabis across the American border, so cannabis seizures have skyrocketed and seem to be out of control. The office of the Quebec Minister of Public Security said that it has informed your department of the situation several times, but it is still waiting for your response. Would I be wrong to think that, as with the handgun issue, your government is trying to shirk all responsibility by shifting it elsewhere, rather than engaging in a serious fight against organized crime?