Easter

Thursday April 13, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 13, 2017

Marijuana Legislation to be tabled Thursday

March 28, 2017

When marijuana becomes a legal recreational drug in Canada, the Liberal government wants Canadians to be able to hold up to 30 grams without fear of running afoul of the law, Radio-Canada and CBC News have learned.

That is just one of several details about what will be included in the federal government’s marijuana legislation, which is expected to be introduced on Thursday, according to a senior government source.

Other elements that will be contained in the upcoming bill include:

  • Introducing penalties for selling cannabis to minors and driving while under the influence of marijuana — both of which were contained in the Liberals’ election platform.
  • Rules that will set limits on how marijuana products are marketed, which are expected to be similar to the limitations on alcohol and tobacco.
  • Funding for a public awareness campaign.
  • The approval of roadside saliva tests to detect drug use.

December 16, 2016

Drugged driving presents a particular challenge. The cannabis task force noted that roadside tests to determine whether a driver is impaired because of pot use are still in development. Public Safety Canada has been working with police in several cities to run pilot projects on different roadside detection tests.

Legalization was a Liberal campaign promise in the 2015 election campaign. Both as Liberal leader and later as prime minister, Justin Trudeau has pitched to Canadians that legalization will make it harder for young people to access pot and will take profits away from organized crime.

It’s expected the government will follow a lot of the advice provided by the Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation.

According to recent reporting by CBC News, that will include:

  • A minimum age of 18 to buy marijuana, though provinces and territories will have the option of setting a higher age limit.
  • Allowing Canadians to grow four marijuana plants per household.
  • Licensing of producers, as well as ensuring the safety and security of the marijuana supply, will be a federal concern.
  • Provinces and territories will set the price for marijuana and decide how it is distributed and sold.

The prime minister has already suggested that any government revenues from marijuana sales won’t go toward fattening the federal bank account. Instead, Trudeau has said the money could go toward addiction treatment, mental health support and education programs. (Source: CBC News) 

 

Saturday April 4, 2015

Saturday April 4, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday April 4, 2015

City trashes Good Samaritan for downtown parking lot cleanup

Ted Pundey didn’t expect to be paid for his volunteer cleanup — but he certainly didn’t expect to be fined.

Tired of looking out his downtown condo window at a parking lot full of trash (one the city says has been identified as an illegal dumping “hot spot”), he decided on Tuesday to clean up the mess near King William and John streets himself.

But the intended good deed cost him $125 after he was slapped with a fine by bylaw officers who had witnessed the cleanup — one they alternatively call “illegal dumping.”

“They caught me cleaning,” Pudney — a CBC video editor in Toronto — said Wednesday. When three officers had showed up he was pleased, assuming they were there to help.

But when they handed him a ticket, he was baffled — for one, this wasn’t even his garbage. And he’d stacked the boxes just metres from where he’d collected the trash. In doing so, the city says, he crossed an invisible line in the lot, from private property to a public alleyway portion.

“We have no issues with anybody helping to clean up a property, but if someone is disposing what they’re cleaning up off that property onto city property … then the taxpayer ends up paying for that,” the city’s municipal law enforcement manager Kim Coombs says.

Pudney — who moved from Toronto three months ago — didn’t realize the distinction: “I was doing this strictly to be a good guy. I had no agenda, other than that the area needs some attention.”

He’d purposely stacked the boxes against a posted sign in the alley, advertising designated pick-up times between 10 a.m. and noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)