Politics Briefing: Cannabis rules to vary province by province

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Good morning,

Legal recreational cannabis is set to become a reality in Canada later this year, but the framework by which the drug is regulated is set to be a patchwork of rules and laws that will differ by province and territory.

Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, passed overwhelmingly in the House of Commons in November but it faces a rough ride in the Senate. Each provincial and territorial legislature will also table its own legislation that outlines key information such as the legal age of use and the distribution and sales model. Canada's First Nations are also demanding control over the distribution and sale of cannabis products in their communities.

The resulting regulatory landscape is complex, with rules and laws differing by jurisdiction. For example, Nova Scotia will see alcohol and cannabis sold alongside each other in government liquor stores while Alberta's marijuana marketplace will be run by private outlets that won't be allowed to sell their products alongside alcohol, tobacco or pharmaceuticals. To help you navigate through the hazy landscape we built an interactive guide for our subscribers that details how cannabis legalization will play out where you live. We'll continue to update it as more jurisdictions release details on how they plan on regulating recreational marijuana.

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.

CANADIAN HEADLINES

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says she is concerned about the export of Canadian-made helicopters to the Philippine government, and may block the export of the military vehicles to an administration accused of human-rights violations.

The Conservatives say the Liberal government should conduct a formal national-security review on the sale of one of Canada's largest construction companies to a Chinese state-owned firm.

Kinder Morgan is ramping up its opposition to B.C.'s attempts to block the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The fight over the fate of the project boiled over after B.C. introduced regulations aimed at killing the project and Alberta responded by banning B.C. wines. Kinder Morgan president Ian Anderson says the moves are unconstitutional, and he says investors are losing patience with delays to the $7.4-billion project.

The B.C government has reached a deal with Airbnb that will see the online room-booking service collect sales and hotel taxes.

A former member of Alberta's new United Conservative Party says leader Jason Kenney gave him an ultimatum that if he wanted to return to caucus he could not run in his own redrawn constituency. Derek Fildebrandt, who now won't be able to run under the UCP banner in the next election, says he was told the riding would instead go to deputy leader Leela Aheer as part of a push to grow the party's female membership. Mr. Kenney denies that.

A lawyer who usually represents victims of sexual assault in the military says he is also concerned for some new clients who are being falsely accused.

The second line of the English version of the national anthem is now, officially, "in all of us command."

Statistics Canada says the average national price of marijuana is $6.79 a gram.

And a bird sanctuary in Israel named after former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper is having trouble getting off the ground.

Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on Trudeau in the United States: "But the message Mr. Trudeau is really trying to get across, on NAFTA, isn't an easy sell in Midwest cities such as Chicago, where the trade deal is seen as the cause of plant closings. One of Mr. Axelrod's forgotten sorties in the 2008 Democratic primary campaign was to accuse Hillary Clinton of lying to the American people about her role in building NAFTA. For many Democrats, NAFTA is a dirty word."

Karen Graham (The Globe and Mail) on pipewine politics: "The absence of the adult referee in the form of the federal government asserting its jurisdiction is among the least excusable non-actions in the whole saga. Alberta should stand down on banning B.C. wine. And the federal government must enforce its federal power and take action – be the adult in the room. Canada's reputation as a reliable, attractive place to invest is already compromised and could be irreparably damaged."

Chantal Hébert (Toronto Star) on Justin Trudeau's role: "In the escalating feud between Alberta and B.C. over the expansion of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is — for now — a referee without a whistle. Much as he might want to call an end to the hostilities between the NDP governments of the two provinces, he lacks the means to enforce a quick timeout between them."

The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on helicopters: "Scuttle the deal – Canada doesn't need Mr. Duterte's business."

The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on marijuana in B.C.:  "It would be so much wiser to bring the shadowy, semi-tolerated dispensaries that currently operate in many Canadian cities into the regulatory fold, along with new entrants to the market who show they can do a responsible job of selling weed. That's effectively what B.C. is doing."

Wesley Wark (The Globe and Mail) on Aecon: "For the government to choose not do full national security review of the Aecon takeover would be astonishing. To fail to do so would make a mockery of its own rules. The Aecon takeover checks almost all the boxes of the ministerial guidelines for national security review, especially concern over 'the potential impact of the investment on the security of Canada's critical infrastructure.'"

Andrew Leach (Maclean's) on carbon prices and pipelines: "Alberta's carbon policy is integral to the national plan to meet our Paris targets. It has become the means through which the Prime Minister feels confident supporting the Kinder Morgan pipeline in B.C."

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INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

Germany's grand coalition is set to continue, after Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right party agreed to terms with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). The agreement comes months after the country held its election and ends the uncertainty that followed. The deal required Ms. Merkel to give up deep concessions, including giving up the finance ministry to the SPD. Martin Schulz, the leader of the SPD, is set to resign that role and will become Germany's foreign minister under the plan.

South African President Jacob Zuma is expected to be replaced by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was chosen as leader of the ruling African National Congress recently. Mr. Zuma has been under pressure to resign and has been beset by widespread corruption allegations.

Rohingya refugees say that hunger is being used as a weapon by the Myanmar government against them. "I felt so sorry that I couldn't give [my family] enough food," one man said, tears running down his face, in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. "Everything just got worse and worse. ... Day by day, the pressure was increasing all around us. They used to tell us, 'This isn't your land. ... We'll starve you out."'

American military aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's pro-regime forces in response to an attack on a base of U.S.-backed fighters.

U.S. President Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to draft options for a military parade styled after France's Bastille Day parade, which he attended last year, a request that has reverberated around Washington. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle levied criticism at the idea.

Venezuela has set a presidential election for April 22 after mediation talks between President Nicolas Maduro's leftist government and the opposition coalition. Mr. Maduro is incredibly unpopular and his country has struggled economically but he has moved to enact reforms that stifle opposition powers.

And House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi stood and spoke in front of lawmakers for eight hours and seven minutes straight, without stopping. According to historians, the monologue is likely the longest continuous speech in the American lower chamber. During her speech she highlighted the plight of undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children  and whose future is in doubt.

Michael Byers (The Globe and Mail) on the extraterrestrial economy: "SpaceX is now at the centre of a larger technological revolution that includes reusable rockets, the miniaturization of satellites, space-based broadband and other new applications. Just as importantly, the company is leading the commercialization of space: Falcon Heavy is not only the most powerful rocket in existence, it will soon extend the economy into space."

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