Canada government facing resistance from Senate over pot law

[Loyd]

Source: Reuters

November 3, 2017 / 7:35 PM

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government’s plan to legalize recreational marijuana by next July could be in jeopardy, with opposition brewing among some in the Senate and concerns that the deadline to pass the bill is rapidly approaching.

The Senate’s approval is needed to pass laws though it does not often block bills passed by the elected House of Commons. Some senators say police need more time to prepare and also oppose setting the federal age of legal use at 18.

Legalizing marijuana for recreational use was part of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 2015 election campaign and the government has set a relatively quick deadline to put it in place. Canada would be the first Group of Seven country to allow the drug nationally.

The legislation is not expected to reach the upper house until December and some senators have said they will take as long as they need to review it.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-cannabis-senate/canada-government-facing-resistance-from-senate-over-pot-law-idUSKBN1D32IK?il=0

---

Uhhh, correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding of the (unelected?) Canadian Senate was that it was basically the same as the British House of Lords, i.e., a body that "considers" legislation before rubber-stamping the decision of the House of Commons.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

1. The Canadian Senate was created by the British at independence

There was probably a grand total of a dozen Lords residing in Canada at the time so they called it the Senate. Although Canada really wasn't independent from the UK in any practical sense until 1931.

[mjvpi]

2. I thought, from the headline, that you meant the US Senate!

They can’t get anything done in US politics, so they decided to mess with Canada.

[roamer65]

3. They can delay it, but they cannot stop it.