Politics Briefing newsletter: On legal pot, B.C. goes middle of the road

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Good morning,

Marijuana is set to be legal next summer, and the provinces are getting ready for it. In eastern Canada -- notably Ontario and Quebec -- it's all about complete government control of the market. In Manitoba, private business will take over. And in Alberta and B.C., it's somewhere in-between.

Lax attitudes among municipalities, police and the public have allowed illegal dispensaries to flourish in British Columbia, and soon cannabis consumers will be able to purchase the drug legally from both private and government-owned retailers. The province has released a rough outline of how marijuana sales will be regulated in the home of "B.C. Bud," with a minimum age of 19 — the same as for alcohol. But many of the details, such as whether existing illegal dispensaries will be brought into the legal marketplace, won't be sorted out until early next year.

Even then, there will be more work to be done to prepare for legalization. The Globe's Gary Mason points out that the task of updating laws and regulations to adjust to legal marijuana is staggering: "There's a reason provincial governments in this country are freaking out about having to meet next summer's deadline for legalizing pot: They're finding it a complete and utter nightmare."

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Chris Hannay in Ottawa, Mayaz Alam in Toronto and James Keller in Vancouver. If you're reading this on the web or someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, you can sign up for Politics Briefing and all Globe newsletters here. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.

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CANADIAN HEADLINES

Today is National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, an anniversary to mark the 1989 murders of 14 young women in Montreal who were killed because of their gender at École Polytechnique. The City of Montreal is holding its annual ceremony, at which Valérie Plante -- the city's first female mayor -- and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau will attend. The following are the names of the women who lost their lives on Dec. 6, 1989

Geneviève Bergeron, civil engineering student.
Hélène Colgan, mechanical engineering student.
Nathalie Croteau, mechanical engineering student.
Barbara Daigneault, mechanical engineering student.
Anne-Marie Edward, chemical engineering student.
Maud Haviernick, materials engineering student.
Maryse Laganière, budget clerk.
Maryse Leclair, materials engineering student.
Anne-Marie Lemay, mechanical engineering student.
Sonia Pelletier, mechanical engineering student.
Michèle Richard, materials engineering student.
Annie St-Arneault, mechanical engineering student.
Annie Turcotte, materials engineering student.
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, nursing student.

Time Magazine says its Person of the Year is the group of Silence Breakers who exposed powerful men who harassed and abused those under them.

A Liberal MP says she is not sure she accepts a Conservative MP's apology for an inappropriate comment.

Canada's climate-change ambassador has resigned her post after the sudden death of her husband.

The government is snubbing Boeing in the face of its trade dispute by cancelling its order of jets from the U.S. manufacturer and instead buying 28 to 30 used warplanes from the Australian military, sources tell The Globe.

The Liberals limited debate in the House on their reforms to the access-to-information system.

A group of Thalidomide survivors says Disabilities Minister Kent Hehr was rude to them in a meeting, such as telling them, they say, that "everyone has a sob story." Mr. Hehr says his comments were misconstrued. "As someone with a disability myself, it was certainly not my intention to offend anyone," he said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's next pick for the Supreme Court, Justice Sheilah Martin, says working on the residential school settlement taught her a lot about empathy.

The former head of the RCMP's drug squad has now launched his own marijuana business.

B.C. is imposing new restrictions on gambling in the province's casinos to clamp down on a form of money laundering that's become known as the Vancouver Model. High rollers will be forced to provide more information about where they got their money, while government regulators will be stationed at casinos. The new rules are aimed at ending the free flow of illicit cash from international criminals.

A Montreal man is suing TD Bank because, he says, they closed his accounts over unfounded concerns that his business violated Canadian sanctions against Iran. Neither TD nor the government would comment.

And the National Capital Commission spent $5,000 on piano tuning this year.

Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on Canada-China trade talks: "The significance is not simply that Mr. Trudeau might have to tone down the 'progressive trade' stuff to make a deal. That could be politically embarrassing, but not fatal to Canadian interests. The larger signal is that China is not chasing Canada any more. The Chinese don't think they have to make so many concessions for a Canadian deal."

Colin Robertson (The Globe and Mail) on Canada-China trade talks: "When dealing with the Chinese, strategic patience counts. The Chinese measure progress in centuries rather than days or months. Nor should we discount standing firm on our progressive values. The Chinese may not like it, but they respect conviction."

Global Times, a Chinese newspaper, on Canada-China trade talks: "Trade between China and Canada is mutually beneficial, more significant than the ideology upon which the latter's media has been focusing. When Canada imports a pair of shoes from China, will Canada ask how much democracy and human rights are reflected in those shoes? It would be as absurd as China questioning the capitalist nature of every single good it imports from Canada."

Bianca Wylie (The Globe and Mail) on smart communities: "The nascent plans for a smart neighbourhood on Toronto's eastern waterfront may sound exciting from an urban-planning perspective, but the high-tech project poses fundamental governance problems that we need to solve now. Smart cities are largely an invention of the private sector – an effort to create a market within government. They offer tech companies opportunities to generate profits by assuming functions traditionally carried out by the public sector and by selling cities technologies they may or may not need. The business opportunities are clear. The risks inherent to residents, less so."

Justin Ling (Walrus) on Finance Minister Bill Morneau: "Morneau, regardless of what the opposition parties would have you believe, does not appear to be guilty of insider trading, tax fraud, or any of the other charges levelled against him in recent weeks. Select slivers of those accusations are true. Many are completely unproven. Several are outright false."

Robyn Urback (CBC) on a Conservative MP's inappropriate remark: "I'm not sure what is to be achieved by airing this publicly: we know harassment is a problem on the Hill, and we know that female politicians, in particular, have to grapple with an onslaught of abuse. But there is a difference between hordes of trolls calling Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne a 'disgusting lesbian' on Twitter or a politician preying on his intern, and a fellow MP making an ill-conceived joke."

Susan Delacourt (iPolitics) on the remark: "This week, we saw a vivid illustration of why it took so long for federal politicians to wrap their minds around the problem of sexual harassment on Parliament Hill. It's just too easy for this serious issue to get tangled up in silly, partisan politics."

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

As Saudi Arabia and Iran continue to wage their proxy war over control over the Middle East, Yemen is caught in the middle and its future remains at a crossroads as it continues to be used as a pawn by more powerful neighbours. Violence has engulfed the nation and resulted in what is arguably the world's biggest humanitarian crisis. The assassination of Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, known for switching sides between world powers in his decades-long career, has raised the stakes in the impoverished country's civil war.  If you need to get caught up on what's happening in Yemen, we've built a guide that explains the situation.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to formally announce today that America recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, breaking with longstanding U.S. policy. He has already told leaders in the Middle East that the U.S. embassy will be moved to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Canada says it will keep its embassy where it is.

The United Nations' political chief is in North Korea for a rare visit, sparking hope that the multilateral international body would play a role as a mediator to de-escalate tensions in the region.

The massive overhaul of the U.S. tax system that made its way through Congress was unprecedented in many ways. The Associated Press compared it to the last major tax bill, The Tax Reform Act of 1986. The latter came after a year and a half of negotiations, won bipartisan support, benefited the middle class more than corporations and the wealthy and was projected to not change the federal deficit. The bill that passed the Senate last week can claim none of those same points.

Democratic Congressman John Conyers, the longest-serving member of the U.S. House, announced his retirement after being the subject of sexual misconduct accusations while also using taxpayer money to settle complaints. The 88-year-old was first elected in 1964 and was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The Gulf Co-operation Council's meeting was supposed to last two day. It lasted hours, as the ongoing diplomatic dispute in the Arab peninsula over Qatar caused the convention to end abruptly.

And a look at the religious side of U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence, and how he has reconciled it to serving with Mr. Trump. "The number of compromises he made to get this job, when you think about it, is pretty staggering," one former adviser told the Atlantic.

Errol Mendes (The Globe and Mail) on Canada's role in Yemen: "Because some of the great powers, such as the United States, are implicated in this proxy war due to their military assistance and geopolitical ambitions with either Iran or Saudi Arabia, there is a need for third countries, such as Canada, to play the role of mediator and engage in 'track two' processes, perhaps outside the region. This could involve bringing together key leaders from all sides of the conflict to engage in proposals for de-escalation of the violence and bombing that allows for a meaningful humanitarian pause to permit access to critical food, medicine and humanitarian assistance."

Globe and Mail Editorial Board on Russia and the IOC: "Despite rumours of a last-minute accommodation in Russia's favour, the IOC has booted a raft of high-ranking Russian committee officials, and slapped a lifetime ban on former Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, who is now Russia's Deputy Prime Minister. The latter gesture qualifies as an extraordinary rebuke to Mr. Mutko's political benefactor, President Vladimir Putin. He will surely take it as a personal affront. Good. Preemptive threats of retaliation from Moscow were issued weeks ago; it is possible Russia will opt to not broadcast the 2018 Winter Games, or pass legislation forbidding players in the Kontinental Hockey League from competing in Korea. So be it."

Lawrence Martin (The Globe and Mail) on Mueller and Trump: "Many now feel it's just a matter of time before Mr. Trump himself is ensnared. More likely, it's a matter of never. It won't be the fault of top sleuth Mueller. He has assembled a crackerjack investigating team which is scrupulously examining every lead. No stone unturned, as they say. This isn't Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden. But in all likelihood, no matter what the inquiry turns up, it is not going to stand. Mr. Trump has too many escape valves at his disposal. He can claim legal immunity, he can use presidential pardons, he can discredit or shut down the inquiry. Laws on presidential wrongdoing are blurry, subject to varying interpretations."