Marijuana task-force member’s move to private sector raises questions
A New Democratic MP is warning of a ‘clear appearance of conflict of interest’ after it was revealed that a member of the government’s marijuana legalization task force is now running a medical marijuana company.
Raf Souccar, a former RCMP deputy commissioner, served on the independent task force that advised the government on legalizing recreational marijuana use. The task force filed its nonbinding report on Nov. 30, 2016, and it was made public two weeks later.
Souccar is now president and chief executive officer of Aleafia, a Toronto-based company that specializes in medical cannabis therapy. According to its corporate registry, Aleafia was incorporated on Jan. 17, 2017. Three months later, on April 13, the government announced legislation to legalize marijuana.
Members of government advisory panels are required to disclose their interests in the subject matter before joining the panel. They also sign a confidentiality agreement stipulating that they cannot disclose material given to them by the government unless given permission. But they are not under any obligation to refrain from commercial activity in the sector afterward.
Souccar told the National Post that nobody approached him about joining Aleafia until his work on the task force was done, and that his first conversation about the company didn’t come until January 2017.
“The circle of people that know me know better than to have approached me while on the task force to get into this type of business,” he said. “I would have never entertained any discussions with anybody while on the task force.”
But he said he can understand why some might have concerns. “There is clearly a potential conflict that could have occurred. And I made sure to the extent that I believe is safe and ethical, I separated that,” he said.
Don Davies, vice-chair on the health committee that has been studying the marijuana legislation, said the task force did good work — but the optics of one of its members now running a medical cannabis company shows the government may need to look at instituting a cooling-off period for consultants on policy.
“I think this is a case where there is a clear appearance of conflict of interest, whether it’s there or not. And I think that the government would do well to examine it.”
Souccar was recruited to Aleafia by Julian Fantino, a former Conservative cabinet minister and former Ontario Provincial Police commissioner. Fantino — who took a hard line against marijuana legalization while in politics — serves as the company’s executive chairman, and says he became convinced of the benefits of medical cannabis therapy while serving as veterans affairs minister.
As opposed to acting as a marijuana dispensary, Aleafia is conceived as a health therapy company that sets up treatment plans for patients and provides them with products from licensed cannabis growers.
The Post had spent the past week trying to clarify Souccar’s role with the company. He was not listed on Aleafia’s website or in public corporate documents.
On Friday, Souccar told the Globe and Mail he was in fact running the company as president and CEO.
In an interview with the Post the next day, Souccar said his work on the task force had changed his views on cannabis as a therapy treatment, particularly in how it can act as an alternative to opioid use.
“Doing the task force was probably the big change that happened in me ... And so when an opportunity presented itself, I said, well how can I help? How can I move this thing forward?”