Bill C-15 Senate Committee Hearings: Transcripts and Video Clips
Visit the Bill C-15 YouTube Channel to hear the opinions of expert witnesses!
Members of the Bill C-15 Senate Committee:
The Honourable Joan Fraser, Chair.
The Honourable Pierre Claude Nolin, Deputy Chair
and The Honourable Senators:
Angus,
Baker, P.C.,
Campbell,
Carignan,
Cowan (ou Tardif),
Joyal, P.C.,
LeBreton, P.C. (ou Comeau),
Milne,
Poulin,
Rivest,
Wallace,
Watt.
Department of Justice Canada Paul Saint-Denis, Senior Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Chief Superintendent Pierre Perron, Director General, Criminal Intelligence;
Superintendent Bill Malone, Director, Organized Crime. Ottawa Police Service
Deputy Chief Sue O'Sullivan;
Inspector Jill Skinner.
Statistics Canada - Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics Lynn Barr-Telford, Director Craig Grimes, Unit Head Mia Dauvergne, Senior Analyst, Policing Services Program
Canadian Association of Crown Counsel Jamie Chaffe, President.
Darryl Plecas, RCMP University Research Chair, Director, Centre for Criminal Justice Research, University of the Fraser Valley Elizabeth Sheehy, Professor, University of Ottawa James Morton, Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School Scott Wheildon, Lawyer
Cato Institute Glen Greenwald
(by videoconference)
Drug Truth Network shows feat. Glenn Greenwald
Listen to Glenn Greenwald's presentation to the Cato Institute regarding 7 successful years of drug decriminalization in Portugal. Part 1 (MP3) 04/08/09 Part 2 (MP3) 04/15/09
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse Michel Perron, Chief Executive Officer Rita Notarandrea, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Amy Porath-Waller, Senior Research and Policy Advisor Rebecca Jesseman, Research and Policy Advisor
Senate discussion of the amendments to Bill C-15
Committee Chair Sen. Joan Fraser explains amendments to Senators.
(A Senate vote on accepting the amendments was deferred until December 9, 2009 at 5:00 p.m.)
December 9, 2009
5:00 p.m
Senate vote on the amendments to Bill C-15
The Senate has accepted the proposed amendments by a vote of 49-43.
The bill will now go to Third Reading in the Senate, and then will be forwarded to the House of Commons.
IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE SENATE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
The Senate Committee removed mandatory penalties associated with producing under 200 marijuana plants *only in certain circumstance*. The mandatory minimum sentences will apply (even for a single plant) if "Health and Safety Factors" are determined to be present
If there are "Health and Safety Factors" (e.g. growing in a rental property?!) then growing even a single cannabis plant, for the purposes of trafficking, would trigger a mandatory prison sentence of 9 months.
Health and Safety Factors
1.
the accused used real property that belongs to a third party to commit the offence
2.
the production constituted a potential security, health or safety hazard to children who were in the location where the offence was committed or in the immediate area
3.
the production constituted a potential public safety hazard in a residential area
This video contains evidence that debunks the Conservative claim of Liberal Senators "gutting" Bill C-15.
The two Conservative Senators who had questions about the amendment (Sen. Carignan and Sen. Wallace) both interpreted as making the bill "stronger." Not exactly the reaction you'd expect over an amendment that supposedly "gutted" the bill.
Don't believe the spin!
JUDGE FOR YOURSELF
Department of Justice press release Jan. 29, 2010
Excerpt: "The opposition has obstructed that agenda in the Senate, most notably by gutting Bill C-15 a bill proposing mandatory jail time for serious drug offences, and a key part of the governments efforts to fight organized crime."
Politicians who support prohibition are supporting organized crime
Cannabis prohibition is expensive, ineffective, and causing significant harms to Canadian society.
For the good of ALL Canadians, it's time to end cannabis prohibition.
Visit the Bill C-15 YouTube Channel to hear the opinions of expert witnesses!
