Manitoba cannabis regulator placed review of public consumption on pause after NDP took office
Critic says de facto ban effectively criminalizes cannabis for people who rent apartments
Manitoba's cannabis regulator planned to review the de facto provincial ban on smoking, vaping and otherwise consuming marijuana in public places early this year — but put the analysis on pause, pending direction from the NDP government.
In a 14-page departmental briefing prepared for Wab Kinew's incoming government in October, the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba said it "received some requests to allow cannabis consumption sites" in this province and was preparing to review public cannabis consumption in early 2024.
"LGCA has committed to a full, in-depth review of cannabis consumption sites, including industry demand, legal permissibility, and potential regulatory implications," the briefing stated, noting Ontario and British Columbia are also looking at public cannabis consumption.
"LGCA plans to revisit its analysis in early 2024, beginning with a review of the legislative and regulatory framework and then moving to stakeholder consultations."
The LGCA noted in that briefing that public consultations in 2021 and 2022 "did not indicate either strong support or opposition" for cannabis consumption sites in Manitoba.
Now, the LGCA states the review it had planned for this year "has been paused, pending direction from the current government." It is also using different language to characterize the public interest and industry demand for cannabis consumption sites.
"The LGCA's previous consultations did not show strong public support for public consumption spaces, and little demand from industry," LGCA spokesperson Lisa Hansen said in a statement.
Since the federal government legalized cannabis in 2018, Manitoba's de facto ban on public cannabis consumption has been criticized on the basis it's unfair to people who live in public housing and other rental apartments that don't allow smoking.
"The existing legal framework essentially makes it basically impossible for anybody who doesn't own their own place or live in a place — whether they're renting or own it — where they're allowed to smoke cannabis indoors," said Karl Gowenlock, a Winnipeg lawyer who sits on the board of the non-profit Winnipeg Housing Rehabilitation Corporation.
"Most private rental apartments these days do not allow smoking of tobacco or cannabis inside, and under current legislation it's not allowed in common rooms and apartments."
Gowenlock said even if a landlord wants to create an outdoor space outside on the property, it has to be eight metres away from the building.
"For most apartment buildings, simply that's not an option," he said. "So what we're left with is that probably the majority of renters in this province don't have a place where they can smoke cannabis legally.
"So for them, it's essentially still criminalized."
The NDP government did not comment directly on the pause placed on the LGCA's review of public cannabis consumption sites.
"Any potential decisions on public cannabis consumption sites would have to balance the health and social considerations of Manitobans," Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said in a statement.
Gowenlock said he's disappointed the NDP government is not directing the LGCA to come up with more flexible rules governing cannabis consumption.
"Given this government's expressed priorities to look after the needs of vulnerable people and the less advantaged in our society, I think this is really not following through with their declared principles," he said.
PCs claim government wants to de-privatize cannabis
Manitoba's Progressive Conservative opposition declined to state a preference for keeping public cannabis consumption effectively illegal or easing up restrictions.
La Vérendrye MLA Konrad Narth, the LGCA critic for the PCs, said he is more concerned the NDP government plans to ratchet back the private sale and distribution of cannabis products in this province in favour of a public model.
Narth pointed to comments made by Wolseley MLA Lisa Naylor last year about changing the way cannabis is sold in Manitoba.
"We understand that private sales of cannabis were brought in under the PC government, and I know that that's not the norm across the whole country," Naylor said in April 2023.
"So I think it's safe to say that if we're elected, we'll take a close look at all of the decisions that were made regarding cannabis when we weren't the ones at the table making those decisions."
The NDP government declined to comment on Narth's assertion.
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With file from Kristin Annable and Ian Froese