Prime Minister Shuts Down Parliament - Kills Bill C-15 In a political maneuver designed to shield his embattled Conservative government from criticism during the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper on December 30th "prorogued," or shut down, Parliament until a new session begins in March. The move kills all pending legislation, including a Tory "tough on crime" bill, C-15, that included mandatory minimum nine-month prison sentences for growing as much as a single marijuana plant.
Dec 9, 2009
Senate Accepts Bill C-15 Amendments The Senate has voted to amend Bill C-15. The bill will now go to Third Reading in the Senate, and then will be forwarded back to the House of Commons.
The Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, to which was referred Bill C-15, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other acts, met this day at 5 p.m. to give consideration to the bill.
Senator Pierre Claude Nolin (Deputy Chair) in the chair.
The Deputy Chair: Welcome, everyone. We will have two things to start with today. First, I have a declaration to report to you. Colleagues, I would like to indicate that Senator Campbell has made a written declaration of private interest regarding Bill S-226. In accordance with rule 32.1, the declaration shall be recorded in the minutes of proceedings of this committee.
Oct 6, 2009
Senate C-15 Hearings start Thusday @ 10:45 am Eastern Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Thursday, October 8, 2009 10:45 am
Location: Room 257, East Block
(Televised live on PTN)
(Webcast)
Clerk: Jessica Richardson (613-990-6087)
Agenda for the meeting - Senate
Bill C-15, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts.
Sep 29, 2009
B.C.'s Prince of Pot Surrenders for Extradition to U.S. VANCOUVER - After flouting marijuana laws for decades, British Columbia's so-called prince of pot turned himself in to authorities Monday to face extradition to the U.S.
http://freemarc.ca/
But Marc Emery was defiant until the end.
"Plant the seeds of freedom. Over grow the government everyone," Emery yelled as he was led away by sheriffs at the B.C. Supreme Court in downtown Vancouver.
His wife Jodie Emery wept during the short court process where Justice Anne MacKenzie committed Emery for surrender to the United States.
Sep 28, 2009
Marc Emery Taken Into Custody - Extradition to the USA It is a very sad day for Canadian sovereignty and for the cannabis movement as Marc Emery was surrendered to US authorities to face 5 years imprisonment for a crime the Canadian government KNOWINGLY collected taxes on instead of prosecuting!
This tragic event should not be ignored by any Canadian. Today it is Marc Emery, but tomorrow it could be anyone of us for whatever reason - posting something on the internet via a US server or doing business with the US that is allowed for years until one day....
This whole legal case has been quite complicated since the beginning, but the outcome exposes once again just how much the Canadian government is nothing more than a US puppet.
Please visit Why Prohibition for suggestion s and resources to help.
The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, when shall this bill be read the third time?
(On motion of Senator Wallace, bill referred to Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, on division.)
Jun 25, 2009
Senate stalls passage of mandatory minimum sentencing legislation "Conservative Justice Minister Rob Nicholson held a press conference today to protest the slow pace of the passage his so-called 'law and order' agenda in the Senate. Nicholson specifically cited Bill C-15, which proposes mandatory jail terms for growing even a few marijuana plants, and implored the Senate to pass the bill in less than 24 hours."
Jun 22, 2009
Bill C-15 goes to the Senate for second reading It was moved by the Honourable Senator Tardif, seconded by the Honourable Senator Fraser, that debate be adjourned to the next sitting of the Senate.
Jun 10, 2009
Bill C-15 has first reading in Senate Controlled Drugs and Substances Act -> Bill to Amend - First Reading
The Hon. the Speaker informed the Senate that a message had been
received from the House of Commons with Bill C-15, An Act to amend the
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related and
consequential amendments to other Acts.
Second reading: June 12, 2009.
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act -> Bill to Amend - First Reading
The Hon. the Speaker informed the Senate that a message had been
received from the House of Commons with Bill C-15, An Act to amend the
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related and
consequential amendments to other Acts.
Second reading: June 12, 2009.
See Mandatory Minimum Sentences
Supreme Court of Canada lets convicted marijuana grower keep her North Vancouver house Canada's highest court has overturned a B.C. Court of Appeal decision that would have forced a North Vancouver marijuana grower to forfeit her house.
In a 6-1 decision issued this morning (May 29), the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a forfeiture order issued against Judy Ann Craig was disproportional.
OTTAWA - Today, Dr. Keith Martin, MP introduced a bill in the House of Commons to decriminalize the simple possession of marijuana.
"The 'war on drugs' has been a complete failure. It has not reduced the crime rate, drug use, nor has it saved money or lives. Decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of pot and up to two plants will sever the connection between organized crime and casual users of pot. This bill is bad news for criminal gangs, which are the only beneficiaries of the status quo because it would eliminate demand for their product. As a result this bill will significantly undermine the financial underpinnings of organized crime gangs in Canada," said Dr. Martin.
Under this bill, marijuana possession would still be illegal, but people would receive a fine rather than being passed through the expensive judicial system.
Bill C-15 could fill Canadian prisons with drug offenders If passed into law, Bill C-15 would, among its other provisions, throw people caught with one marijuana plant into the slammer for a minimum of six months. If growing a single plant is done on a property that belongs to another person or in an area where it may present a hazard to children, minimum jail time is nine months.
Worse, the bill seeks to increase the maximum penalty for this particular offence to 14 years.
Tories bring in mandatory sentences for serious drug crimes The proposed changes to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act include a mandatory two-year sentence for dealing drugs such as cocaine, heroin or methamphetamines to young people and a two-year mandatory sentence for running large-scale marijuana grow-operations.
It would impose a minimum one-year term for the sale of drugs such as marijuana for organized crime purpose, as well as for drug dealers carrying a weapon or being involved in violence.
Those caught dealing drugs near a school or in an area normally frequented by young people would also face the mandatory two-year sentence.
The proposed changes would increase the maximum sentence for marijuana production to 14 years, from seven, and impose tougher penalties for trafficking in so-called date-rape drugs.
BC Supreme Court Rules in Favour of Medical Marijuana Compassion clubs and other medical marijuana distributors should have restrictions on them lifted, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled on Monday.
To the delight of a packed courtroom in Vancouver, Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg said federal regulations that limit people's access to medicinal cannabis are "constitutionally invalid" and gave the government a year to amend the rules.
The current rules under the federal medical marijuana program limit a supplier from providing marijuana to more than one patient and restrict growers from sharing a common space.
Koenigsberg made the ruling during the trial of Vancouver Island resident Mathew Beren. ...."In my view, it would be contrary to public interest for Mr. Beren to have criminal record," Koenigsberg told the courtroom. "If ever there was a case where an absolute discharge is appropriate, it's this one."
Jan 25, 2009
U.N. crime chief says drug money flowed into banks VIENNA: The United Nations' crime and drug watchdog has indications that money made in illicit drug trade has been used to keep banks afloat in the global financial crisis, its head was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Vienna-based UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa said in an interview released by Austrian weekly Profil that drug money often became the only available capital when the crisis spiralled out of control last year.
"In many instances, drug money is currently the only liquid investment capital," Costa was quoted as saying by Profil. "In the second half of 2008, liquidity was the banking system's main problem and hence liquid capital became an important factor."
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime had found evidence that "interbank loans were funded by money that originated from drug trade and other illegal activities," Costa was quoted as saying. There were "signs that some banks were rescued in that way."
Profil said Costa declined to identify countries or banks which may have received drug money and gave no indication how much cash might be involved. He only said Austria was not on top of his list, Profil said.
To the delight of a packed courtroom in Vancouver, Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg said federal regulations that limit people's access to medicinal cannabis are "constitutionally invalid" and gave the government a year to amend the rules.