Canada - Two MPs are challenging party messaging on abortion, drug use - and putting their leaders on the spot

[S.J.B.]

Two MPs are challenging party messaging on abortion, drug use - and putting their leaders on the spot
Catherine Cullen
CBC
March 5th, 2020

In their political beliefs, Toronto Liberal Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and rural Saskatchewan Conservative Cathay Wagantall appear to be worlds apart.

They've got this much in common, though: they're using private members bills to challenge where their parties stand on some very awkward policy topics — and pushing their respective leaders into some public discussions they'd probably rather avoid.

...

Prompted by the opioid crisis, [Erskine-Smith] has two pieces of legislation at the ready — one that would decriminalize all drug possession and a second bill that would take what he calls the "lesser step" of giving police the option of issuing a warning to individuals caught with illicit drugs, or of referring them to a health care provider.

Erskine-Smith will soon have to pick just one bill to put forward for a vote. In principle, he said, he favours the first bill — but he acknowledges the second would be an easier sell.

"I recognize the politics. I recognize that my government has not indicated support and has in fact indicated opposition to decriminalization," said Erskine-Smith.

Read the full story here.

 

[S.J.B.]

...a second bill that would take what he calls the "lesser step" of giving police the option of issuing a warning to individuals caught with illicit drugs, or of referring them to a health care provider.

I'm interested to see the details of this bill, as it would have much more of a chance (albeit still a small one) than an outright-decriminalization bill.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith is definitely the most active Member of Parliament when it comes to pushing for drug-policy reform. Keep up the good fight, Mr. Erskine-Smith!

 

[SunriseChampion]

Yeah, I've been impressed with him in this regard. He represents a pretty interesting part of Toronto that has its own local culture in many ways.

I'm very glad to see he's keeping up this work that he started in the last parliament.

I don't think the weaker version of what he's proposing is worth pushing, to be honest. I think police are already giving up on pursuing criminal charges in a large number of posession incidents, at least from what I know and can tell.

Baby steps for the ignorant masses, I suppose.

Hey, how about he tack on a requirement that shops selling alcohol educate purchasers about the dangers of alcohol?

Good on him, in any case. I should go see if I can run into him at his constituency office and high-five the dude.

 

[S.J.B.]

I don't think the weaker version of what he's proposing is worth pushing, to be honest. I think police are already giving up on pursuing criminal charges in a large number of posession incidents, at least from what I know and can tell.

Yeah, upon looking at the text of the bill, it's pretty ineffectual. Better than nothing, I suppose.

Here are the texts of the bills:

C-235

C-236

 

[SunriseChampion]

Cheers for posting the links!

 

[S.J.B.]

Cheers for posting the links!

No problem!

 

[SunriseChampion]

Yeah, upon further reading of the proposal, it's a bit weak and pretty well just codifies what I know has already been happening in some cases for years now.

Soft. He really should just put forward a much more bold proposal. I don't see the harm. The usual knee-jerk wankers are going to howl at this pittance of an attempt at liberalisation anyway, may as well really give them something to whinge about.

 

[S.J.B.]

Soft. He really should just put forward a much more bold proposal.

Well, C-235 is pretty damned bold, since it removes possession as an offence entirely from the CDSA. But he could have come up with something intermediate, such as making possession a ticketable offence only or something. He probably felt that a more symbolic bill like C-236 is the only one that would have a slight chance of being passed given that he doesn't have support from his party, and he's probably right about that.

 

[SunriseChampion]

Well, C-235 is pretty damned bold, since it removes possession as an offence entirely from the CDSA.

Yup...typical of me....I missed that. ><

But he could have come up with something intermediate, such as making possession a ticketable offence only or something. He probably felt that a more symbolic bill like C-236 is the only one that would have a slight chance of being passed given that he doesn't have support from his party, and he's probably right about that.

Yeah, unfortunately, I believe he's right in thinking that and even that is probably not too likely.

We'll see what happens after all these psilocybin and MDMA treatment trials are over with....I mean whether or not we see at least a gradual change in societal attitudes.

Though why this hasn't happened given the opioid problem is a bit concerning.

 

[S.J.B.]

Though why this hasn't happened given the opioid problem is a bit concerning.

I feel part of it is this government used up all its drug-policy capital on cannabis legalization and figured they can't push too much farther on that front because, well, people still find drugs scary and they don't want people to think of them as drug legalizers (at least not beyond cannabis). I can't really blame them but I hope if they last long enough they will start to move forward on that front again.

 

[SunriseChampion]

That's a very fair reading of it on your part. I don't credit this government with being that enlightened in this regard, but I would, of course, hope to be proven wrong.