E-petition
Regarding the e-18 Cannabis Petition, it's currently still waiting for Elizabeth May to sponsor the petition, she has until February 9th, at that point, I will be given the option to select a different MP to sponsor the e-petition. At that point, i'll select Kennedy Stewart (as he's the only one who responded, indicating that i should ask my local MP first). I have also asked Murray Rankin's office, but not received a reply (i've visited the office twice already).
Dana Larsen submitted e-174 to Jenny Kwan, with the identical text of the petition, and Sheila Jacobson submitted e-176 to Murray Rankin, also with the identical text. So the 1st MP to click and sponsor their e-petition becomes the sponsor, and the other petitions would simply be withdrawn.
Bill C-420
Regarding the Bill C-420 draft text document, i noticed the other day that for Bills introduced in 2016, the page layout and font has changed, so now i'm in the process of editing the text so to match the new format. It's also now much simpler, where it only shows the 2 things/changes to legislation that needs to happen (Remove Cannabis from the CDSA and repeal section 462.2 of the Criminal Code)
Bill C-421
Regarding the Bill C-421 draft text document, this is actually a New Act that i'm creating, it's called 'The Cannabis Freedom Act' this includes all of the stuff from the Petition Text and a little bit more detail, so it's all in an Act as new legislation. It also needs to be changed to the new page layout with change in fonts.
Bill C-428
Regarding the Bill C-428 draft text document, this is a simple Bill. It's to create '420' as a national non-statutory holiday. Work is still being done to update the text.
Bill S-420 - readers notes
And finally, i created a document called 'Readers Notes' as a way to keep track of the potential supporters, those who would most likely vote yes if this was given to a vote, and it includes a list of potential MPs who could sponsor the Bill (all 3 Bills), as well as the list of Senators, highlighting those who would likely support it based on statements made.
Cannabis Policy Statement for Each MP
Regarding the task of getting a cannabis policy statement from each MP, the progress is steady. I'm writing a snail-mail letter to each of the MPs who have not made a public statement of some sorts.
Snail-mailing a copy of the Draft Bill text.
I have also been snail mailing all of the Senate and Liberal senators an older copy of the Bill S-420/C-420 where some of them have responded back thanking me for the message/document.
Publishing responses.
All of the responses that I am getting from MPs and Senators are being published on this blog, this way, it's searchable on the internet.
MP Contact Details Slides.
I am also working on publishing the contact details for all MPs, and including their Cannabis policy as logos.
For example.
Goals
1. The 1st goal is to get an MP to sponsor the e-petition, and once it's public on the web, i'll be sharing that link so people can sign the petition. (this should hopefully be done within the next week)
2. My next goal is to have the Bill C-420, C-421 and C-428 Draft Bill text documents updated with the new page layout, this should be done within the next couple of weeks.
3. My other goal is to be getting the cannabis policy statement for each MP, and for those who have not responded, to snail-mail them a letter requesting a public statement. (i'm also tweeting each unknown MP)
4. Once #3 is done (i'm about 3/4 way through the list) then the goal is to make a blog post for each MP that has made a public statement of cannabis policy.
The bottom line is this, the Liberal Party and Justin Trudeau stated that his government will legalize cannabis, but for the specifics, I figure that it's better if we (the people) tell the MPs and Senators exactly how we want cannabis to be legalized (not having it federally regulated, letting the provinces/first nations regulate as they wish, probably similar to alcohol, but not impose specific regulations)
The text of the petition was VERY carefully worded and written with the help of the cannabis community who all took a look at it, and agreed that this covers the basics that everyone wants.
So the draft text of 3 Bills take this even a step further and does the work of an MP/senator, so all they need todo is submit it.
The reality is, of course, is that MPs will have something to say about it, and offer ideas on how to make the document better. As more people are providing feedback on this, the better the text becomes.
Over on the Facebook Page i am hosting a meetup event about this, for those who understand how Bills work and can help improve it.
Thats all for now,
Thanks for reading,
Sam Vekemans,
Victoria, BC
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