Second

Session, 48th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2017

BILL 23

ACT TO AMEND THE LIQUOR CORPORATION ACT

Received and Read the First Time .................................................................................................

Second Reading .................................................................................................................................

Committee ..........................................................................................................................................

Third Reading .....................................................................................................................................

Royal Assent ......................................................................................................................................

HONOURABLE

TOM OSBORNE

Minister

of Finance and President of Treasury Board

Ordered

to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Liquor Corporation Act to give the Newfoundland and

Labrador Liquor Corporation the authority to

buy, import and sell cannabis;

control the possession, sale

and delivery of cannabis;

establish, maintain and operate

cannabis stores; and

issue licences for the

possession, sale and delivery of cannabis.

The Bill would also give the minister

the authority to set fees and establish forms for the purpose and

administration of the Act.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE LIQUOR CORPORATION ACT

Analysis

S.2 Amdt.

Interpretation

S.11 R&S

Conflict of interest

S.33 R&S

Power to deal in liquor and cannabis

S.34.1 Added

Licence

re: cannabis

S.41 R&S

All

money to be paid to corporation

S.45 Amdt.

Purchases

by corporation

S.46 Amdt.

Prices

S.55 Added

Fees

and forms

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSNL1990 cL-19 as

amended

1. Subsection 2(1) of the Liquor Corporation Act is amended by adding immediately after

paragraph (

f) the following:

(f.1) "cannabis" means

(

i) a cannabis plant,

(ii) any part of a cannabis plant, including the

phytocannabinoids produced by, or found in, a cannabis plant, regardless of

whether that part has been processed or not, other than a part of a cannabis

plant referred to in subparagraphs (

v) to (viii),

(iii) any substance or mixture of substances that

contains or has on it any part of a cannabis plant, and

(iv) any substance that is identical to any

phytocannabinoid produced by, or found in, a cannabis plant, regardless of how

the substance was obtained,

but does not include

(

v) a non-viable seed of a cannabis plant,

(vi) a mature stalk, without any leaf, flower, seed

or branch of a cannabis plant,

(vii) fibre derived from a stalk referred to in

subparagraph (vi), or

(viii) the root or any part of the root of a cannabis

plant;

(f.2) "cannabis plant" means a plant that

belongs to the genus Cannabis;

(f.3) "cannabis store" means a store

established, maintained and operated by the corporation under this Act to sell

cannabis;

Section 11 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Conflict of

interest

(1) A

member of the board or an officer of the corporation shall not, directly or

indirectly, individually or as a member of a partnership or corporation, have

an interest in or receive a benefit, directly or indirectly, from

(

a) the manufacture, sale or distribution of, or

other dealing in, alcoholic liquor or cannabis or in an undertaking in which

alcoholic liquor or cannabis is required;

(

b) premises in respect of which an existing

licence has been issued under this Act, the Liquor

Control Act or a regulation made under that Act;

(

c) a contract or other arrangement in respect of

premises upon which alcoholic liquor or cannabis is manufactured, produced,

sold or kept for sale; or

(

d) purchases or sales made by the corporation or

by persons authorized under this Act or the Liquor

Control Act or a regulation made under that Act to purchase or sell

alcoholic liquor or cannabis.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) prevents a member of

the board, an officer or other employee of the corporation from purchasing and

having in his or her possession for the personal use of himself or herself or

his or her family alcoholic liquor or cannabis which he or she may lawfully

purchase under this Act, the Liquor

Control Act or a regulation made under that Act.

Section 33 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Power to deal in

liquor and cannabis

33. The

corporation may

(

a) buy, import and have in its possession for

sale and sell alcoholic liquor, cannabis or articles associated with alcoholic

liquor or cannabis in the manner set forth in this Act;

(

b) control the possession, sale and delivery of

all alcoholic liquor and cannabis in accordance with this Act;

(

c) manufacture, blend, package, mix, dilute or

otherwise prepare for sale alcoholic liquor;

(

d) with the prior approval of the minister,

(

i) establish, maintain and operate liquor stores

at the places in the province that may be considered advisable for the sale of

liquor in accordance with this Act,

(ii) establish, maintain and operate cannabis

stores at the places in the province that may be considered advisable for the

sale of cannabis in accordance with this Act,

(iii) establish liquor agencies at approved premises

authorizing those agencies to sell liquor or specified kinds of liquor in

accordance with the regulations, or

(iv) establish liquor stores, cannabis stores and

liquor agencies in the same locality;

(

e) prescribe, subject to the approval of the

minister, the days on which liquor stores are to be closed for business and on

which liquor may not be sold at liquor agencies, and different days may be

prescribed for different liquor stores or liquor agencies in the province;

(

f) prescribe, subject to the approval of the minister,

the days and hours during which liquor stores are to be open for business and

liquor may be sold at liquor agencies, prescribe those days and hours in

respect of the whole or part of a year, a specified time or a specified

occasion, and prescribe different days and hours for different liquor stores

and different liquor agencies in the province;

(

g) prescribe, subject to the approval of the

minister, the days and hours during which cannabis stores are to be open for

business, prescribe those days and hours in respect of the whole or part of a

year, a specified time or a specified occasion, and prescribe different days

and hours for different cannabis stores in the province;

(

h) acquire, by deed, grant, lease or in other

ways, land, a building or other property whether real or personal required for

the operation of this Act or the Liquor

Control Act ;

(

i) buy or lease all plant and equipment it may

consider necessary and useful in carrying into effect the objects and purposes

of this Act or the Liquor Control Act ;

(

j) employ the casual labour that may be required

and engage the services of experts and persons engaged in the practice of a

profession, where considered expedient;

(

k) determine the nature, form and capacity of all

packages to be used for containing alcoholic liquor kept or sold under this Act

and the Liquor Control Act ; and

(

l) do all the things that are considered

necessary or advisable by the corporation for the purpose of carrying into

effect this Act and the regulations or the Liquor

Control Act.

4. The Act is amended by adding immediately after

section 34 the following:

Licence re:

cannabis

34.1

(1) The

board may grant to a person a licence to possess, sell or deliver cannabis.

(2) The board may issue different classes of licences

(3) An application for a licence shall be made to

the board in the form and manner set by the board.

(4) A licence shall only be granted under this

section to

(

a) an individual or a group of individuals,

where that individual or each member of the group of individuals is at least 19

years of age; or

(

b) a corporation or partnership authorized to

carry on its business in the province whose officer or agent in charge of the

premises for which the licence is required is at least 19 years of age.

(5) The board shall not grant a licence under this

section where

(

a) the applicant has not paid the required fee;

(

b) the

applicant has not satisfied the requirements in subsections (3) and (4);

(

c) the

board, in the board's absolute discretion, is of the opinion that the applicant

is not a fit and proper person to keep and operate a premises where cannabis

will be sold;

(

d) the

board reasonably believes that

(

i) the

applicant is applying on behalf of a beneficial owner, and

(ii) the

beneficial owner does not satisfy the requirements of this Act;

(

e) the

board reasonably believes that the past conduct of the applicant establishes

reasonable grounds for the belief that the applicant will not carry on business

in accordance with the law and with integrity and honesty;

(

f) the applicant is carrying on activities that

are, or will be, where the applicant is licensed, in contravention of this Act;

(

g) the granting of the licence would not be in the

public interest having regard to the needs and wishes of the public in the

community in which the premises will be located;

(

h) the

applicant and where the applicant is a corporation, the officer or agent in charge of the premises for which the licence is required , has been convicted within the 5 years

preceding the application for a violation of

(

i) the

Excise Tax Act ( Canada )

or the Customs Act ( Canada )

with respect to offences relating to liquor or cannabis,

(ii) the

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act ( Canada ) with respect to trafficking

in a controlled substance within the meaning of that Act,

(iii) the

Food and Drugs Act ( Canada )

with respect to trafficking in a controlled or restricted drug or

possession for the purposes of trafficking in a controlled or restricted drug,

(iv) the

Criminal Code ( Canada )

for an offence punishable by imprisonment of one year or more; or

(

i) t he

management, equipment, accommodations and facilities of the applicant's

premises

(

i) do

not conform with the licensing standards and operational requirements as

determined by the corporation,

(ii) do not conform with the laws and regulations

of the province, or

(iii) have not been approved in writing by an inspector

appointed under the Liquor Control Act .

(6) Where the annual licence fee has been paid, a

licence is considered to be renewed annually on April 1 and continues in effect

unless it is

(

a) revoked at the request of the licensee;

(

b) revoked due to a period of inactivity; or

(

b) suspended or revoked by the board.

(7) The board may suspend or revoke a licence

granted under this section, where in its opinion there exists a reasonable

cause for doing so, but whenever it suspends or revokes a licence, it shall, at

the request of the licensee, provide to him or her in writing the reason for

the suspension or revocation.

(8) The board may, in its discretion, limit the

number of licences granted under this section.

Section 41 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

All money to be

paid to corporation

41. All

money received from the sale of alcoholic liquor and cannabis accruing in the

administration of this Act shall be paid to the corporation.

6. Subsection 45(1) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Purchases by corporation

(1) An

order for the purchase of alcoholic liquor or cannabis by the corporation shall

be authorized by those officers of the corporation that may be designated by

the board, and an order shall not be valid or binding unless so authorized.

7. Subsection 46(1) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Prices

(1) The

board may fix the prices at which the various classes, varieties and brands of

spirits, wine, beer and cannabis are to be sold and different prices may be

prescribed under this subsection in respect of beer sold to the corporation, to

a licensee and to the public.

8. The Act is amended by adding immediately after

section 54 the following:

Fees and forms

55. The minister may set fees and establish

forms for the purpose and administration of this Act.

Queen's Printer