Senators have voted to pass the Trudeau government’s landmark legislation to lift Canada’s 95-year-old prohibition on recreational cannabis by a vote of 56 to 30 with one abstention.
Despite the resolute opposition of the 32 Conservative senators, and trepidation among some independent senators, Bill C-45 now moves back to the House of Commons.
MPs there will now have to decide what to do about the the almost four dozen amendments to Bill C-45 that were made in the Senate. The government will have to decide whether to approve, reject or modify the changes before returning the bill back to the Senate for another vote.
Health Minister Petitpas Taylor has said that, once the bill is passed, provinces and territories will need two to three months to prepare before retail sales of legal cannabis are actually available.
Canadian Press – June 07, 2018.