Pubdate: Thu, 20 Jul 2017
Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
Copyright: 2017 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.winnipegsun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.winnipegsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503
Author: David Larkins
Page: 3

THE WAITING GAME

Pallister monitoring fed decision on Churchill, wants Ottawa to delay
pot legalization

The federal government needs to "step up" on multiple matters that
impact Manitobans, Premier Brian Pallister said Wednesday in a
conference call with local media.

Pallister said the province needs an answer from Ottawa on what to do
about the ongoing crisis in Churchill before deciding its next move;
and he reiterated his believe the feds need to push pause on their
marijuana legalization, saying the stakes are too high to rush into a
bold new era.

On Churchill, Pallister said the federal government must first
indicate its intentions for the port.

"Where we're going with Churchill will depend to a great degree on
where the federal government wants to go with respect to what always
was a public utility, which is the port and the rail line in addition
to it," Pallister said in a 15-minute teleconference from Edmonton,
where he attended Council of the Federation meetings. "… We need to
know what the federal government's intentions are with respect to the
port before we can move forward with any confidence or with any
defensible investment."

Pallister's remarks come a day after Churchill Mayor Michael Spence
voiced further frustration over an inability to get government and
shipping company OmniTrax to the table to find a solution. The only
rail line to the town was washed out and damaged by flood in May.

Pallister found himself in national headlines out of the First
Ministers meetings this week after suggesting a one year extension on
the federal government's July 2018 deadline for marijuana legalization
be considered.

While legalization was a campaign pledge of Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau, Pallister said realistically premiers have only had since
Trudeau's announcement in March to begin preparing for a drastic new
reality. He said issues of road safety and enforcement, training for
distribution, and taxation are among a myriad issues that need to be
reconciled.
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MAP posted-by: Matt