Office of the
Official Opposition

 

Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly

 

265 Legislative Building
Regina. Saskatchewan
848 083

Phone: (306) 787?7388

March 27, 2018 Fax: (306) 787?6247
Email: leader@ndpcaucusskca

The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, P.C., MP.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
284 Wellington Street

OTTAWA ON K1A 0H8

Dear Minister Wilson-Raybould:

We write to you today regarding the urgent need for your government to pardon Canadians who have
been convicted of possessing cannabis.

Your government has committed to legalizing cannabis this year, and it is unfair and unjust for
Saskatchewan people to continue to be burdened with criminal records for engaging in activity that will
be legal and regulated just a few months from now.

As a former Crown prosecutor, you know first-hand that the people convicted and carrying criminal
records for possession of cannabis are disproportionately people living with mental health challenges,
Indigenous people, people of colour, or those otherwise marginalized.

In 2016, the year with the most current available statistics, 821 people in Saskatchewan were charged
with possessing cannabis. Saskatchewan people were charged with possession of cannabis at a rate 51%
higher than the national average. A life-long criminal record creates a serious barrier to educational and
economic opportunities and those barriers do real harm to people and our province.

We ask you to take urgent action to address this inequity and issue pardons for Canadians with
convictions for possession of cannabis.

Sincerely
Nicole Sarauer, M.L.A. The Honourable Donald Morgan, Q.C., M.L.A.
Official Opposition Critic for Justice Minister of Justice and Attorney General

cc: The Honourable Robert Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P., Official Opposition Critic for Justice
Murray Rankin, Q.C., M.P., NDP Critic for Justice

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