Barrette wants slice of pot pie

Tweets take aim at Ottawa

Quebec Health Minister Gaétan Barrette took to social media on Sunday to complain that Ottawa’s marijuana legalization drops plenty of responsibilities on the provinces but little in the way of money.

Barrette, who has been decidedly cool to the Trudeau government’s plan to legalize recreational marijuana use, wrote on his Twitter account that “Fed Libs political anthem: High visibility, low cost (to them). Always. Latest example? Pot legalization.”

The minister then went on to muse over whether the provinces should get a share of any federal tax revenue generated by legal marijuana sales, writing “Pot: all consequences and responsibilities being imposed on PTs shoulders shouldn’t fed taxes also be transferred to PTs!”

Last Thursday the federal government tabled legislation aimed at legalizing marijuana by next July. However, eyebrows were raised once the details of the proposed law made it clear the provinces, not Ottawa, would do most of the heavy lifting when it came to the nuts and bolts of the law’s execution.

Sales, packaging and distribution would become provincial responsibilities, as well as establishing the minimum age for pot consumption and how much consumers would be permitted to possess.

Last month, Barrette told reporters that, as a physician and health minister, he’d “learn to live” with Ottawa’s decision to legalize marijuana.

Sunday’s Twitter burst suggests that as provincial politician, he may be less comfortable with the plan.