Five Boroughs will ban pot use in public places By Oct. 17
Concedes 18- to 20-year-olds could smoke weed legally until Quebec law is changed
QUEBEC A Coalition Avenir Québec government will introduce a new law to raise the legal age to consume recreational cannabis from 18 to 21 and ban consumption in public places like parks, a party spokesperson says.
But the CAQ concedes that until a new law is passed, youth will be able to light up, because the legal age to consume pot will be 18 when the federal law comes into effect on Oct. 17.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, the newly re-elected MNA for Borduas who is also one of two spokespersons for the transition government, signalled Wednesday the CAQ will act quickly on its plan to take a much harder line than the Liberals when it comes to cannabis.
“We sent a clear message in the campaign and Quebecers voted for the CAQ and agree with increasing the age to 21,” Jolin-Barrette told reporters, emerging from a party caucus meeting in Boucherville.
“We will probably use new legislation. We will see if there is a way we can go faster than that, but if we have to modify the bill that was adopted, we will as soon as possible.”
Adopted in June before the Liberals lost power, Bill 157, which applies Ottawa’s decision to legalize cannabis, stipulates it is prohibited to sell cannabis to a minor.
After public hearings and debate, the Couillard government defined a minor as anyone younger than 18, which is the same age used to be allowed to legally consume alcohol.
Most other provinces, including neighbouring Ontario, opted for 19. The law also states a person cannot have in their possession more than 30 grams of cannabis or have more than 150 grams in their homes.
Home growing of cannabis is not allowed in Quebec.
When it came time to vote on the bill, which Quebec hopes will hurt black market sales, the CAQ and Parti Québécois opposed, with the CAQ vowing to reopen the issue should it win the election, and increase the age to 21.
It argued numerous studies point to the damage cannabis has on young, developing brains, accusing the Liberals of being irresponsible by opting for 18.
Wednesday, Jolin-Barrette, who is on the shortlist as a potential justice minister in François Legault’s new government, conceded new legislation will take time.
“There will be a transition period between the two because it is impossible to modify the law because the National Assembly would have to sit,” added Geneviève Guilbeault, the other spokesperson for the CAQ.
Legault is expected to announce the composition of his new cabinet some time in the next 15 days. On Monday he suggested the legislature would be called back before Christmas, during which time it can table new laws.
With its whopping 74 seats in the house, adopting a new cannabis bill would be relatively simple for the CAQ, but it nevertheless would take time. “They have to reopen the law,” an official who worked on Bill 157 said Wednesday. “There is no other way to do it.”
“It’s a transition period, but the clear message is in a few weeks it will not be possible for them (at age 18) to buy marijuana in the shops,” Jolin-Barrette said.
But the CAQ wants to go further and ban consumption in all public places, including parks and streets across the province. The Liberal approach was to ban consumption in areas where minors are present, such as elementary schools, high schools and colleges plus areas around daycares.
As for public spaces, it left the decision in the hands of Quebec’s cities. The result has been “chaos,” Jolin-Barrette said, noting the rules are different from city to city. Much of the bill itself is inapplicable, he added. For example, a person is not allowed to smoke weed on a bicycle path, but can on the street near the path.
He said the CAQ will apply a blanket policy for the province.