Editor's note: We take a moment before the Canada Day celebration to reflect on recent Canadian stories. Canada Day is July 1 on Monday, so we run this today. Have a safe and wonderful long weekend.
The impact of edibles can change marijuana tourism in Canada. Unfortunately for marijuana tourists, that impact is reduced and delayed.
The original idea was that October 17, forever known as marijuana legalisation day, would be the target date for edibles. Existing federally regulated processors can apply to Health Canada on July 15. The October 17 deadline marks 60 days before edibles can be sold in Canada. So Christmas sales, yes, but supplies will be limited.
Each individual package will be limited to a maximum of 10 mg of THC. My expert friends find the 10 mg standard to be a joke. If you are not an expert, 2.5 mg is a good starting point. The types of edibles will be scrutinized by Health Canada. So no to gummy bears if they are appealing to children. Cannabis extracts and topicals (ointments, oils, makeup) will also be available in mid-December.
Edibles will not have alcohol, tobacco, nicotine, or caffeine with exceptions for low amounts of naturally occurring caffeine, such as chocolate.
As someone who went to California over the winter and legally bought edibles, the Trudeau Government is going way overboard in every element. Safety should be a factor and children shouldn't ingest any sort of marijuana product. Education is important but structuring that is difficult when people don't know what the product will look like.
The Trudeau Government approved the Trans Mountain pipeline. I learned from The Current series on CBC Radio One that the Trans Mountain pipeline will run parallel to the current pipeline but somehow triple the capacity. The primary issue will be tanker traffic in Burnaby and the difficulty to get the oil to the West Coast. The tankers would have to sail through Vancouver Harbour under the Lions Gate Bridge into the Burrard Inlet.
The argument is that the Liberals aren't pleasing anyone with the decision (lots of pipelines vs. no pipelines). So Jason Kenney and the UCP in Alberta are upset about oil not getting to the West Coast but the current Trans Mountain pipeline gets to Burnaby, the same place the expansion will also end.
Andrew Scheer released the Conservative Party take on climate change. The carbon tax is a conservative idea that isn't that effective in fighting climate change. The conservatives have been fighting the carbon tax, even though households will get reimbursed for most of that money. Scheer's ideas are fine but will have far-less of an effect than even the carbon tax.
I also don't get why they have to send raw bitumen through the pipelines instead of refining the oil in Alberta (more jobs). British Columbia has expressed that concern from an environmental standpoint since bitumen spills are more costly to the environment than regular oil spills.
I really want to understand all of these rationales. I don't know if Canadians know the answers and so the news doesn't talk about it or I am the only one who is curious on either side of the border.
We thought that Kelly Knight Craft seemed extra invisible in her limited time as U.S. Ambassador to Canada. Craft is the nominee to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Under questioning in front of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, we learned that Craft was gone from her post more than 300 days over 19 months. We also learned that Craft posted social media messages from outside of Canada at times where there was no record of travel. Craft was absent 45 of 54 days between March 21 and May 13; some of her absences involved visits back home to Kentucky.
Craft cited visits to Montréal and Washington, where she said she was part of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer's negotiating team. Montréal trips aren't a concern; Washington trips can be justified. Her presence on the trade negotiating team, if that is true, should be alarming to Canada and the concept of being an ambassador. The ambassador role should be a go-between with the two countries. Her presence on the trade negotiating team is the equivalent of the butcher having a thumb on the scale.
Craft told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee that she received approval for her travel. That means little, especially if those trips were to go back to Kentucky.
The U.S. Ambassador to Canada is supposed to be about Canada. Craft couldn't even pretend otherwise. Her arrogance should be grounds not to get a promotion but the problem for Canada is that she might have to return to Lexington, er, Ottawa to continue to do a poor job in her current position.
Bill 21 is law in Quebec though the law is being challenged. The bill would ban religious symbols from public servants, defined to include teachers, lawyers, and police officers, while at work. You might remember the previous Liberal government pushed a less severe version of the bill.
Quebec Premier François Legault’s CAQ government along with the Parti Quebecois voted in favour while the Liberals and Quebec solidaire were opposed. The primary target is Muslim women for the hijab or niqab but also affects Sikh men and Orthodox Jewish men. A provision was made for teachers as long as they remain in their position at their school.
The tug-of-war is about secularism vs. targeting religious minorities. The idea of a "secularism police" is remnant of the "language police" of previous times in La Belle Province.
Whatever you might think about these religious symbols, we think that governments requiring them is reprehensible. Having a government say you can't wear something also feels reprehensible.
Air Canada tells us the Tiffani Adams story is true, though you would have a hard time believing the story. We definitely advocate for traveling to and within Canada. Just be aware of your surroundings, whether you are the passenger or the carrier.
We normally put several sports stories in the Canada Day notebook. We had too many stories in the sports notebook so we gave them a separate notebook on Wednesday.
photo credit: me
video credit: CBC News
