Politics Briefing: Legal marijuana will have to wait a little bit longer

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Good morning,

So much for smoking up (legally) on Canada Day.

Senators have agreed to a timeline for examining the legalization of marijuana that won't see a third-reading vote on the legislation until June 7. Third reading is the final stage in the legislative process, so after that there's royal assent and the legislation becomes law. And eight to 12 weeks of sorting out regulations after that, you'll be able to get cannabis at your local store. (Depending on your province's rules and whether you're even into that sort of thing.)

Optimistically, then, the prohibition on pot will end sometime in August.

Pessimistically, though...who knows. If the senators want to make amendments – and they likely will – the bills will bounce back to the House of Commons, and a game of legislative tennis will ensue. We saw that happen with physician-assisted dying two years ago, and changes to the Indian Act last year. That could further delay legalization into the fall.

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

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has broken weeks of relative silence on the growing battle over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, warning that B.C.'s attempts to block the project are imperilling the national climate strategy. He made the comments in an interview with the National Observer. Mr. Trudeau had previously declined to wade into the fight and only repeated Ottawa's position that the pipeline will be built. But he's now taking direct aim at B.C. Premier John Horgan, saying the premier's tactics risk alienating Alberta and derailing any climate consensus.

The federal New Democrats are holding a convention in Ottawa that starts today. Jewish groups are expressing concern with the policy resolutions up for debate: A third of them concern Palestine and Israel (pro- the former and anti- the latter).

Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne says Canada won't sacrifice its progressive ideals – such as labour and gender rights – in order to strike a trade deal with China.

Business groups are asking the Liberals to please cut the corporate tax rate in the next federal budget.

A new report finds a B.C. government loan program designed to help first-time buyers get into the province's overheated housing market hasn't made much impact.

B.C. is moving a step closer to allowing ride-hailing services such as Uber, with the release of a legislature committee report that makes a series of recommendations designed to regulate them while protecting passengers and the taxi industry.

And the Bank of Canada says it wants to work more closely with the federal government – while, of course, maintaining its independence.

Adam Radwanski (The Globe and Mail) on the first Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership debate: "But for these PCs, it very much spoke to who they are right now – a party lacking not just a leader but a discernible identity, its recent attempts at proving ready for government going up in smoke amid divisive controversies new and long-simmering."

Martin Regg Cohn (Toronto Star) on the Ontario PCs: "Carbon pricing and sex education are emblematic of what ails a party obsessed with past battles, oblivious to present-day problems (hello global warming?) and unable to face future challenges on education and economic renewal in an era of globalization and innovation. Asked to put forward specific ideas in these areas, the candidates lapsed into myths and shibboleths — and embarrassed themselves."

Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on Indigenous child welfare: "There is little question that the current situation is untenable. It has to change. And aboriginal communities in Canada need to drive that change. But it can't just be change for change sake, or we risk perpetuating our failure to protect our most vulnerable people."

Murad Hemmadi (Maclean's) on the Prime Minister's trip to India: "Everything about India is at a scale that makes Canada look like a rounding error, it does not always behave in predictable ways and there is not a whole lot we can do about it."

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INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

In the wake of a school shooting in Florida that left 17 people dead and many others injured, the state's embrace of gun culture is coming under scrutiny. Gun-control advocates in Florida and across the country are raising their voices once again but it is unclear whether change will finally occur – during the past five months alone, Americans have gone through three of the top 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history.

The U.S. and the U.K. are blaming Russia for the "NotPetya" cyberattack that crippled computer networks across the world.

Bob Rae, Canada's special envoy to Myanmar, says he remains concerned about the Rohingya refugee crisis and the jailing of two reporters who were covering it.

Israel's Attorney-General  Avihai Mandelblit praised the lengthy police investigation into alleged corruption by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Mandelblit is slated to review the results of the investigation before deciding whether to press charges.

After Jacob Zuma resigned as president of South Africa under a cloud of corruption allegations, Cyril Ramaphosa, the newly elected leader, has vowed to clean up the government and fight against corruption. Mr. Ramaphosa, who replaced Mr. Zuma as leader of the African National Congress last year, is a former trade union leader turned wealthy businessman and is South Africa's post-apartheid president. In the late 1990s Mr. Ramaphosa was Nelson Mandela's preferred successor.

Bob Rae (The Globe and Mail) on the Rohingya crisis: "There is an urgency to the crisis that will not go away. Sustained, principled engagement is the order of the day, and there needs to be a fuller appreciation of the risks of failure to engage on the three fronts I described. More lives will be lost if we fail this challenge."

Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on Japan and the Koreas: "After all, their country spent much of the first half of the 20th century under Japanese occupation, and the memories of that period still inform South Korean politics. Cozying up to North Koreans, if only for the Olympics, is one way of reminding the Japanese that they haven't forgotten."

Glen Hodgson (The Globe and Mail) on the U.S. economy: "The United States is still the world's largest economy, it has by far the most powerful military, and its intelligence and security apparatus reach every corner of the globe. But in overall quality of life compared with its peers, the United States' relative performance ranges widely – it is solid in some respects, mediocre in others, comparatively bad in some important respects, and uneven across different parts of the country."

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