Canada appears powerless to stem the disastrous spread of the mountain pine beetle, blamed for destroying thousands of acres of forest. A new federal assessment concludes the beetle continues its eastward flight from B.C.: “There is no reason this will stop”.
In 1968 the government passed a Narcotic Drugs Act to pursue a “vision of a drug-free society”. Thousands of people were jailed; even simple possession of marijuana was punishable by up to six months’ imprisonment. Drug testing was punitive and commonplace and treatment was “based on obtaining complete abstinence”, noted a Senate report.
The country was not the U.S. but Sweden. The scheme worked; marijuana use by young Swedes fell to 9 percent, less than half Canada’s comparable rate.
Few analysts ever mention Sweden in our national debate over marijuana policy. Discussion is coloured instead by the politics, religion and demography of the U.S. Even the title of Paula Mallea’s book The War On Drugs is an American invention.
Drug policy is complex; it’s been the subject of seven parliamentary committee reports and commissions in the past thirty years. It’s also divisive. No government has achieved any consensus, though Mallea notes most Canadians might agree simple possession should not be a felony.
Mallea has worked as a defence lawyer for drug defendants in Manitoba and Ontario. She recalls one client, Jane, who lost her job after pleading guilty to smoking marijuana at a house party: “I expect she has not worked at a decent job since, much like thousands of others across the country, because her criminal record will be held against her.”
“You would think that someone who has defended legions of drug offenders in criminal court would have formed a substantial and sophisticated opinion on the War on Drugs, but you would be wrong,” Mallea writes. “I knew it was a cruel and wasteful system, but the question of what to do about it never surfaced long enough to produce an informed opinion.”
War On Drugs is constructive but speaks mainly to the like-minded. “Drugs are just drugs,” writes Mallea; “Why did we think it appropriate to criminalize people for ingesting substances that we disapprove of, even when there was no victim and no violence involved?”
Well, yes. But we also punish people who do not pay parking tickets or sell milk off-quota. The author cites with approval a 2002 Senate report that recommended legalization of marijuana, but fails to mention the recommendation came with a warning: “An exemption regime making cannabis available to those over the age of 16 could probably lead to an increase in cannabis use for a certain period.”
Our drug debate is coloured by selective statistics, anti-Americanism and blanket assertions camouflaged as fact. At recent hearings of the Commons health committee former Victoria councillor Philippe Lucas asserted marijuana smokers were just smarter than everybody else – a claim that angered MP Terence Young, Conservative of Oakville:
Canada doesn’t have the drug laws we do because of evildoers in Parliament or vast right-wing conspiracies. We have them because opinions are hardened on both sides, and politicians see no profit in devoting the time and deft touch required to build a consensus – or investigating how it works in Sweden.
By Holly Doan
The War On Drugs: A Failed Experiment by Paula Mallea; Dundurn Press; 256 pages; ISBN 9781-4597-22897; $22.99 
Homeowners and property managers face the prospect of rising insurance costs beginning in 2015 following an obscure federal order on earthquake reserves. Insurers have been told to set aside billions of dollars in new reserves in case of catastrophic quakes in two regions of Canada. Access to Information documents show insurers privately warn the regulations are costly and needless: “We worry about the impact on consumers”.
A museum chronicling mankind at its worst is hiring consultants to determine why tourists will come for a visit. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg issued a contracting notice for research on visitors’ thoughts and impressions after its scheduled opening September 20: “We’re not here to show horrible things”.
A federal board violated the Copyright Act by selling millions of dollars’ worth of commercial data for $759, says a Calgary businessman. The Canada-Newfoundland & Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board is accused of selling material from Canada’s largest private collection of marine seismic maps: “It is perverse”.
Canadians are holding onto their wallets this summer with a majority minding their savings or cutting spending, according to Chartered Professional Accountants research. The survey also signaled a sharp decline in spending on home renovation: ‘I can’t afford it’.
Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. has won a legal battle against an ex-consultant it accused of masterminding a million-dollar scheme. The Supreme Court cleared the way for Shoppers to pursue its former contractor for misappropriated payments: ‘It operated in Ponzi-like fashion’.
Managers and accountants rate Canada Revenue weak on enforcement with scorn for toothless treatment of offshore tax avoiders, the department’s own research shows. The findings are in a $149,000 study commissioned by management: “As soon as tax lawyers are brought in by the wealthy, the Canada Revenue Agency backs off”.
New regulations will see thousands of Canadian lab workers fingerprinted and subject to criminal background checks as an anti-terror precaution. The Public Health Agency said employees with access to deadly bacteria and viruses must be scrutinized: ‘The damage related to a SARS outbreak is 200 times the cost of these regulations’.
A Senate panel conducting landmark hearings on the environmental impact of farm chemicals should report to the public this fall, officials say. Senators aim to complete and publish findings on bee mortality and pesticides after Parliament returns from its summer recess September 15: “It’s up to you guys”.
Twelve million Canadians who signed onto the national Do Not Call List are being promised lifetime freedom from unwanted telemarketing calls. The nation’s telecom regulator the CRTC said the list of registered users is now permanent: “It makes sense”.
Accountants are celebrating passage of legislation that requires MPs to sweep up orphaned tax amendments that clutter Parliament year over year. The measure was signed into law with an omnibus budget bill: “We are really happy”.
One-third of children’s foods tested contain trace levels of agricultural chemicals including two meals rated unsafe, says a Canadian Food Inspection Agency report. Chemicals found in kids’ meals included a common pesticide currently the subject of a Senate investigation: “Heavy metals may pose the greatest inherent risk”.
Lobbyists are proposing a bill to sanction roadside tests for motorists suspected of driving under the influence of marijuana. The group Mothers Against Drunk Drivers said police should gain greater powers to stop the drug-impaired: “I’d love to see drugs included in the bill”.
Canada Border Services Agency expects to collect $23 million a year in new mandatory visa fees on foreign visitors beginning in 2015. The Electronic Travel Authorization program applies only to air passengers: “There’s a risk of nickel and diming our tourists”.
