Pubdate: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2014 Postmedia Network Inc. Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html Website: http://www.theprovince.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: Nick Eagland Page: A6 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc) TRUDEAU, JODIE EMERY GRILLED AT BBQ Vancouver: Pro-Marijuana Liberal Leader, Pro-Pot Activist Discuss Potential Candidate's Political Fortunes A sunny afternoon in the park almost brought pro-Liberal pot activist Jodie Emery and pro-pot Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau together for the first time - almost. Trudeau attended the B.C. Day Liberal barbecue in Vancouver's Douglas Park on Monday with B.C. Liberal candidates and supporters, where Emery made an appearance. She told The Province she was "impressed" by Trudeau's speech to attendees, though she didn't get the chance to meet him. Emery is planning to run for the Liberal Party of Canada in the Vancouver East riding, which has been held by NDP MP Libbie Davies since 1997. To do this, Emery will need the support of Trudeau, who would get the final word on her eligibility. "I understand the leader has to sign off on all candidates if they win their nomination race," she said. "If I do win that, I imagine he would probably allow me to join the team, but, of course, there's no doubt I have some nerves about it." Trudeau was unclear about where he stands on Emery's political ambitions. After speaking following the event about his policies on marijuana control and regulation, Trudeau skirted questions about Emery's potential as a Liberal. "I've never met her, but I recognize that there are a lot of Canadians who are very passionate about particular issues and want to take their activism into politics, and I encourage everyone to look at politics as a way of making a difference," Trudeau told the media. "I certainly don't have anything to say on her status as someone who could or couldn't be a candidate - there's a whole process to go through on that and I'm going to allow the process to function ... " Russ Miller, vice-president of the Vancouver East Federal Liberal Riding Association, said he was "very optimistic" about Emery's chances. It was he and association president Mark Elyas who approached Emery to run in the first place. "I'm supporting Jodie because I've known her for a long time now," Miller said. "We've been holding lots of events and any of the cannabis-oriented events, we've invited Jodie to come speak at. When the open nomination process started, we figured she'd make a great addition to it ... " Emery is waiting for nomination papers and once those are filled out, the vetting process will begin. Emery is planning a 2015 cross-Canada tour in support of the Liberals with husband and pot activist Marc Emery, who will be released from a U.S. prison later this summer after serving nearly five years for selling mail-order cannabis seeds to an American buyer. She said she's running against the Conservatives to exact "political revenge" - she blames the Harper government for her husband's treatment - but also hopes to help unseat Harper for "what he does to families and all the reasons we care about this country." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom