CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is still working with the provinces when it comes to how the costs of administering legal marijuana will be funded.
During a visit to P.E.I. Thursday, Trudeau said discussions are ongoing on legal cannabis with the provinces after premiers were cool to the idea of splitting the revenue of a proposed excise tax 50-50 with Ottawa.
“We continue to work with all provinces and territories and municipalities to ensure we bring in a strong legalized framework around cannabis in order to protect our kids, in order to keep the criminal organizations and gangs from making the billions of dollars in profits that they are,” Trudeau told reporters in P.E.I. Thursday.
The federal government has proposed an excise tax of $1 per gram of marijuana or 10 per cent of the final retail price, whichever is higher, with the revenues to be divided equally between Ottawa and the provinces and territories.
But when this was floated to premiers at their last joint meeting with Trudeau last month, the premiers were resistant.
P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan and other premiers across Canada have argued the provinces will be shouldering the majority of the costs of regulating and enforcing legalized marijuana.
But when pressed Thursday for specifics on funding for the provinces for implementing a pot legalization regime, Trudeau remained vague.
“We continue to work with provinces,” he said.
Regardless, MacLauchlan has said P.E.I. will be prepared to meet the federal timeline for cannabis legalization on July 1, 2018. Provincial legislation will be tabled in the spring.
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The prime minister was in P.E.I. Thursday to deliver the annual Symons Lecture and accept the corresponding award that accompanies it.
His speech zeroed in on the “wealthiest one per cent” in Canada and the fact they have seen their incomes double and triple while the middle class has seen wage stagnation. He pointed to CEOs getting million-dollar bonuses that are “sent offshore so they can avoid paying taxes.”
“Business leaders bear some responsibility here,” Trudeau said.
“They need to look beyond the short-term interests of their shareholders and remember they have long-term responsibilities to their workers and the communities that support them. And that means paying a living wage.”
He criticized those who use of offshore tax havens to avoid paying taxes, noting this has forced the federal government to spend $1 billion to crack down on tax cheats.
“A billion dollars to make people do the right thing. I’m not happy about that, and nor should you be.”
Trudeau’s government has faced criticism in recent weeks over revelations contained in the recently released Paradise Papers that linked high profile Liberals, including the party’s top fundraiser, to off-shore tax havens.
As part of his speech, Trudeau listed a number of ways his government is trying to address concerns about tax avoidance, including offshore audits and “aggressively going after those who promote tax avoidance schemes.”
It’s important because taxes are used to pay for important services and infrastructure across the country, he said.
He took questions from the audience of over 1,000 who had gathered to listen to him in Charlottetown, including questions on human rights and health care for the LGBT+ community, lowering carbon emissions and integration of newcomers and refugees.
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With files from The Canadian Press
