M-198 Taxation of cannabis

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) recognize that health care is a basic human right and that no Canadian should be denied access to the prescription medicine they need to be healthy; (b) recognize that a “medical cannabis product” is a cannabis product sold for medical purposes pursuant to a license for the sale of cannabis for medical purposes granted in accordance with the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act or the Cannabis Act; (c) recognize that although medical cannabis does not have a Drug Identification Number, it is produced and sold in a highly regulated regime known as the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations; (d) recognize that patients who are legally authorized or prescribed cannabis for medical purposes by a physician and prescribing healthcare practitioner can legally purchase quality-controlled cannabis for medical purposes from a Health Canada licensed producer; (e) recognize that the Canada Revenue Agency considers cannabis for medical purposes a tax-deductible medical expense; (f) allow for reasonable access to medical cannabis for all Canadians who have been authorized to use it by a health care practitioner; (g) recognize that medical cannabis patients, including pediatric patients, already pay sales tax and shipping costs on medical cannabis and are not eligible for reimbursement under most insurance plans in Canada; (h) recognize that its proposal to apply excise taxes to medical cannabis, in addition to the existing sales tax, will disadvantage over 260,000 Canadians and their families; (i) not apply an excise duty to cannabis sold for medical purposes; (j) recognize that medical cannabis should be exempt from the federal Goods and Services Tax; (k) exempt medical cannabis from any taxes including the new excise tax after the passage of Bill C-74, Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1; and (l) zero-rate the medical cannabis tax in line with all other prescription medicine and exempt medical cannabis from any additional taxes by amending T 3 Amendments to the Excise Act, 2001 (Cannabis Taxation), the Excise Tax Act and Other Related Texts, 69(4) Section 2 of the Act, in order to allow for reasonable access to medical cannabis for all Canadians authorized to use it by a health care practitioner.