Pubdate: Tue, 27 Aug 2013
Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
Copyright: 2013 The Edmonton Journal
Contact: 
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor.html
Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134
Authors: Mike De Souza and Tobi Cohen

LAW PROF SPARS WITH MACKAY OVER POT COMMENT

Remarks About Trudeau Partisan and Misleading, Complaint Alleges

OTTAWA - Justice Minister Peter MacKay isn't backing down in the wake 
of a complaint asking a Nova Scotia regulator to investigate whether 
he went too far in taking pot shots at Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.

University of Ottawa law professor Amir Attaran has written to the 
Nova Scotia Barristers' Society, asking it to investigate and seek an 
apology from MacKay for allegedly misleading Canadians about federal 
laws by saying in an interview with CTV that "it's currently against 
the law to smoke dope."

Trudeau provoked the controversy after telling the Huffington Post 
Canada about his experiences smoking pot, including as an MP when he 
took a puff of a joint being passed around at a private dinner party. 
The revelations prompted MacKay to accuse the Liberal leader of 
setting a poor example for Canadians by "flouting the laws of Canada."

MacKay, as justice minister and attorney general of Canada, is the 
top prosecuting officer of the country. He leads a team of lawyers in 
the Justice Department and is required by law to "see that the 
administration of public affairs is in accordance with law."

Attaran's letter, sent over the weekend to the society that regulates 
the legal profession in Nova Scotia, noted the courts in Canada have 
concluded it's against the law to possess marijuana, but that there's 
no crime in smoking it.

Attaran, a lawyer and a biologist, also alleged MacKay's comments 
were inappropriate and partisan in nature since they said a crime was 
committed "without formally charging an offence."

While the university professor said he'd be satisfied if MacKay 
apologizes and agrees to be cautious in the future, the justice 
minister did not directly respond to the matters raised in his complaint.

"Our office would like to point Mr. Attaran to section four of the 
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act - where possession of marijuana 
is clearly outlined as a criminal offence," MacKay's spokeswoman 
Paloma Aguilar said in an email.

MacKay declined to answer a follow up question about whether it was 
appropriate for the attorney general to accuse someone of breaking a 
law prior to them being charged with a crime.

"I'll just refer you back to the original statement," Aguilar wrote 
in a subsequent email.

Attaran said he is not a member of any political party and didn't 
consult anyone before sending his letter, but felt it was important 
to remind MacKay about his constitutional responsibilities.

"The Constitution does not give the attorney general a licence to 
badmouth," Attaran told Postmedia News. "That's what a partisan 
politician does. It's not what the attorney general does and Mr. 
MacKay is going to have to learn the difference."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom