Notice: Cannabis Act Legislative Review: Engagement with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis
With the coming into force of the Cannabis Act (the Act) on October 17, 2018, cannabis was legalized, and the production, distribution, sale, import/export and possession of cannabis for adults of legal age was strictly regulated. Through the implementation of the Act, Canada permits legal and regulated access to cannabis for non-medical purposes, signalling a shift away from the reliance on prohibitive measures to deter cannabis use and the adoption of an evidence-based public health approach designed to better protect both public health and public safety.
During the Act’s development, it was widely recognized that effective implementation of the new legislative framework would require ongoing monitoring to assess early impacts, and flexibility to adapt and respond to emerging policy needs following implementation. For this reason, section 151.1 of the Act mandates a review of the Act three years following its coming into force, and that a report outlining findings or recommendation be tabled in both Houses of Parliament no later than 18 months after the review begins.
Pursuant to this statutory requirement, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions have launched a review of the Act with the objective of assessing its public health impacts, including: • On the health and consumption habits of young persons; • The impact of cannabis on Indigenous persons and communities; and • The impact of cultivation of cannabis plants in a dwelling-house.
To carry out this legislative review, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions has established an independent panel of experts. This expert panel will engage with First Nations, Inuit and Métis when carrying out its work. The purpose of the expert panel’s engagement process will be to provide an opportunity for First Nations, Inuit, Métis, members of the public, stakeholders and others to share their perspective and evidence related to the Act’s impacts to date, including both public health and public safety elements .
To inform the review process, Health Canada has published for feedback a “Summary from Engagement with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples: The Cannabis Act and Its Impacts” as well as an accompanying questionnaire. Health Canada will accept feedback on the paper for 60 days following its publication. The goal of this paper is to summarize and confirm what has been shared with Health Canada from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners on key areas related to the Act. First Nations are invited to provide feedback to the questions in this paper to help confirm if Health Canada has properly understood First Nations perspectives and priorities respecting cannabis. Where possible, respondents are invited to share sources and evidence that support their response.
How to participate You are invited to share your feedback in one of the following ways: • Completing the online questionnaire published with the paper at https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/programs/indigenous-engagement-approach-cannabis-act-legislative-review/document.html • Sending an electronic submission via email to Indigenousfeedbacklegreview-retroactionautochtonesexamenleg@hc-sc.gc.ca • Mailing a paper submission to:
Indigenous Feedback Legislative Review Health Canada Address locator 0302I Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9
You may wish to include/attach additional sources of evidence in support of your responses. We ask that attachments be in Word or PDF format.
Please note that if you cannot access the “Summary from Engagement with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples: The Cannabis Act and its Impacts” online, you can email Indigenousfeedbacklegreview-retroactionautochtonesexamenleg@hc-sc.gc.ca to request that a physical copy of the paper be mailed by post to you at the address of your choice.
Engagement with First Nations
Over the course of the next 60 days, Health Canada officials will be available to engage with First Nations leaders and organizations to share information about the legislative review and to gather feedback on how First Nations would like to be engaged by the expert panel before it launches its engagement work.
More information A website for the legislative review has been created to provide additional information about the legislative review and the work of the expert panel at https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/programs/indigenous-engagement-approach-cannabis-act-legislative-review.html.