By Kevin Landry and Jahvon Delaney

Background

On March 25, 2023, the Government of Canada released a Notice of Intent titled Consultation on potential amendments to the Cannabis Regulations. The Notice outlines that Health Canada is currently seeking public commentary on proposed amendments to the Cannabis Regulations made under the Cannabis Act, which came into force on October 17, 2018.

The Purpose of the Proposed Amendments

According to the Government of Canada, the purpose of the proposed Amendments is to gather feedback from Canadians and other interested parties on possible amendments to the Cannabis Regulations, and to provide stakeholders with an opportunity to highlight additional regulatory issues under the current Cannabis Regulations.

The proposed amendments to the Cannabis Regulations are aimed towards the following five priority areas:

1. Licensing;
2. Personnel and physical security measures;
3. Production requirements for cannabis products;
4. Packaging and labelling requirements for cannabis products; and
5. Record keeping and reporting for cannabis licence holders.

Under the proposed amendments, the Government and Health Canada are attempting streamline licencing and production processes by easing certain regulatory burdens, and clarifying existing requirements under the Cannabis Regulations.

Public Comment Period

Health Canada is seeking the public’s feedback on the proposed amendments. The public is able to provide feedback for a 60-day comment period that ends on May 24, 2023. All input is welcome and individual feedback does not have to be limited to the five priority areas listed above.

Contact

Any input and feedback can be submitted by email to cannabis.consultation@canada.ca with the following title in the subject line: “Notice of Intent — Consultation on Potential Amendments to the Cannabis Regulations”.

This client update is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have any questions about the above, please contact a member of the Stewart McKelvey team.

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