The government’s inaction when it comes to issuing pardons for those convicted of soon to be legal cannabis offences is one of the biggest mistakes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made in the process of legalizing the drug, according to the Leader of NDP.

“That is a grievous error that was made by this government,” Jagmeet Singh said in an interview with iPolitics.

“This is probably one of the biggest mistakes this government has made with respect to the entire approach to legalization.”

On Wednesday, NDP MP Don Davies sought unanimous consent from the Commons for his motion on pot pardons. He pointed out that as the Senate passed the cannabis legalization bill Wednesday, many Canadians are still facing criminal charges, experiencing criminal sanctions, or bearing criminal records for cannabis offences.

“The government should take all necessary steps to immediately provide pardons for those burdened by criminal records for cannabis offences that will soon be legal,” the motion read.

The Liberals voted against Davies’ motion, which failed as a result.

While Trudeau hasn’t ruled out the idea of pot pardons, the government has been tip-toeing around the issue. Trudeau won’t confirm whether the feds actually plan to pardon those who have been convicted under cannabis offences. Instead, his government has been telling Canadians that it can’t deal with pardons until the law has changed and cannabis related offences are no longer offences that exist.

“The law remains in effect until it’s repealed and replaced through Bill [C-45] and quite frankly, any discussion of those records can’t take place until that process is complete,” Bill Blair, the justice minister’s parliamentary secretary, told reporters Wednesday.

Trudeau made his most passionate comments on the issue of pot pardons in a Vice town hall, where he shared the story of his late brother being charged with possession of cannabis — and subsequently getting off, according to Trudeau, because of their father’s ability to get a good lawyer.

“People from minority communities, marginalized communities, without economic resources, are not going to have that kind of option to go through and clear their name in the justice system. And that’s one of the fundamental unfairnesses of this current system, is that it affects different people differently,” Trudeau said.

“Canada’s supposed to be fair for everyone and that’s one of the reasons why we are going to be changing the laws, but at the same time until we actually change the law we can’t take steps towards moving retroactively.”

Trudeau said the government will start a process to “try and look at how we’re going to make things fairer” once the law is actually changed.

For Singh, however, that’s not good enough.

“People will continue to be precluded from employment opportunities because of a criminal record, people will be precluded from volunteer, educational opportunities, travel, many people are not able to travel because of these convictions,” Singh said.

“This is a massive injustice that the government has allowed to continue.”

The Cannabis Act received royal assent on Thursday, but it won’t be legal to smoke pot in Canada until October 17. Based on the government’s comments to date, Canadians likely won’t get an answer on pardons until after the day it becomes fully legal.

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