The Senate will only vote on the legalization of cannabis in June, which all but guarantees that the government will miss its July deadline to lift the 95-year-old prohibition on the drug, Senate officials said.
The government tried this week to impose an aggressive timeline to ensure that Bill C-45 would be adopted in May. This would have allowed the legal market for cannabis to open up about two months later, in July.
However, the Liberals faced vigorous opposition to their proposal from the independents and the Conservatives in the Senate, which led to a series of backroom talks to come up with a new timetable.
Under a new proposal that is set to be made public by the government on Thursday, and which is already circulating among senators, the legislation will come up for a third-reading vote in the Senate on June 7.
The Conservative Leader in the Senate, Larry Smith, said the new calendar will allow for "critical analysis" of the legislation and its widespread impacts on Canadian society.
Among other things, he wants to ensure the government conducts a wide-ranging public awareness campaign on the dangers of cannabis before legalization comes into force.
"Our objective was always to have an opportunity to have the proper amount of time to do the in-depth evaluation and represent the voice of Canadians who have serious questions about the legislation," Mr. Smith said in an interview.
If the Senate votes to amend Bill C-45 in June, the proposed legislation will return to the House of Commons where MPs will have their say on the amendments. If the MPs reject some or all of the Senate's amendments, the bill would have to go back to the Senate for approval.
Bill C-45 is currently at the second-reading stage of the legislative process in the Senate, with a number of senators still wanting to speak on the principle of legalization.
Starting in March, Bill C-45 will be studied by five Senate committees: Social Affairs, Legal Affairs, Aboriginal Peoples, Foreign Affairs and National Security. The work of all committees is expected to be completed by May 29.
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In a speech on Tuesday, the Liberal government's representative in the Senate, Peter Harder, said he wanted a vote to send the bill to committee before the start of a two-week break on March 1. He added that if he did not obtain all-party support for his proposal, he would move a motion to use time allocation and force a vote.
"I do, frankly, have some concern that partisan politics could affect our proceedings," Mr. Harder said. "While I certainly agree we need to take our time to do our job of sober second thought, any potential delay for the sake of delay would do a disservice to Canadians and to the culture here in this chamber."
Mr. Harder has since agreed to withdraw his threat to use time allocation.
The Senate is currently comprised of 41 independents, 33 Conservatives, 12 members of the independent Liberal caucus and five non-affiliated senators.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of two new senators from Ontario: educator Martha Deacon and former civil servant Robert Black.
The government has publicly stated it wants to legalize cannabis by July. However, it has also said that industry and governments will need eight to 12 weeks to get ready after Bill C-45 is adopted in Parliament.
The government tried this week to impose an aggressive timeline to ensure that Bill C-45 would be adopted in May. This would have allowed the legal market for cannabis to open up about two months later, in July.
However, the Liberals faced vigorous opposition to their proposal from the independents and the Conservatives in the Senate, which led to a series of backroom talks to come up with a new timetable.
Under a new proposal that is set to be made public by the government on Thursday, and which is already circulating among senators, the legislation will come up for a third-reading vote in the Senate on June 7.
The Conservative Leader in the Senate, Larry Smith, said the new calendar will allow for "critical analysis" of the legislation and its widespread impacts on Canadian society.
Among other things, he wants to ensure the government conducts a wide-ranging public awareness campaign on the dangers of cannabis before legalization comes into force.
"Our objective was always to have an opportunity to have the proper amount of time to do the in-depth evaluation and represent the voice of Canadians who have serious questions about the legislation," Mr. Smith said in an interview.
If the Senate votes to amend Bill C-45 in June, the proposed legislation will return to the House of Commons where MPs will have their say on the amendments. If the MPs reject some or all of the Senate's amendments, the bill would have to go back to the Senate for approval.
Bill C-45 is currently at the second-reading stage of the legislative process in the Senate, with a number of senators still wanting to speak on the principle of legalization.
Starting in March, Bill C-45 will be studied by five Senate committees: Social Affairs, Legal Affairs, Aboriginal Peoples, Foreign Affairs and National Security. The work of all committees is expected to be completed by May 29.
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In a speech on Tuesday, the Liberal government's representative in the Senate, Peter Harder, said he wanted a vote to send the bill to committee before the start of a two-week break on March 1. He added that if he did not obtain all-party support for his proposal, he would move a motion to use time allocation and force a vote.
"I do, frankly, have some concern that partisan politics could affect our proceedings," Mr. Harder said. "While I certainly agree we need to take our time to do our job of sober second thought, any potential delay for the sake of delay would do a disservice to Canadians and to the culture here in this chamber."
Mr. Harder has since agreed to withdraw his threat to use time allocation.
The Senate is currently comprised of 41 independents, 33 Conservatives, 12 members of the independent Liberal caucus and five non-affiliated senators.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of two new senators from Ontario: educator Martha Deacon and former civil servant Robert Black.
The government has publicly stated it wants to legalize cannabis by July. However, it has also said that industry and governments will need eight to 12 weeks to get ready after Bill C-45 is adopted in Parliament.
I get it now..
..they cant say its goin
