Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau says the force is still struggling to get ready for the legalization of marijuana this year.
The Ottawa Police Services Board meeting at City Hall Monday night heard that enforcement of legal cannabis could cost the police service an extra $6.2 million a year in costs.
But Bordeleau says there are still a lot of missing pieces.
Speaking on CFRA’s The Morning Rush with Bill Carroll Bordeleau says there will be, in fact, more policing for his officers once cannabis is legalized.
“The experience in Washington and Colorado indicates that calls for service, motor vehicle collisions, and drug-impaired driving does increase,” he says. “So, there is a significant increase in cost and workload with respect to the legalization of marijuana.”
Bordeleau also says police are still waiting for federal approval of roadside screening devices, and, indeed, for the full details of the legislation, which is still before the Senate.
“One of the challenges is the details of the regulations have not been totally fleshed out,” he says. “We’re as ready as we can be, but the information is still flowing out. We don’t know the implementation date, and we don’t know how the bill is going to back out of the Senate with respect to any specific details.”
The Senate vote on Bill C-45 is expected to take place June 7, meaning even if it gets royal assent that day, it will be another 8 to 12 weeks before cannabis can be legally bought and sold. Current estimates put the implementation of the new legislation at somewhere in September.
“We’re still waiting for pieces of the legislation and regulations to be ironed out,” Bordeleau says, “we’re waiting for equipment. Once those pieces are in place, we’ll be ready, but there’s no question, there is a challenge.”
He adds the focus at the moment is to try and educate the public with as much information as is available, ahead of the roll-out.
“Education is a huge piece,” he says. “That’s why you’re seeing police chiefs and the Ontario government talk about the implementation of this legislation so that individuals know exactly what they can and cannot do. Some people are still under the assumption you’ll be able to walk down the street and smoke marijuana. That will be illegal, it’s like alcohol.”