Liberals are critical of free markets, finding them suspect from the standpoint of justice and calling for redress
by way of government regulation,
taxation and spending.
One of the justifications that
liberals make for the regulation and
taxation of corporations is that corporations are
by their very nature government - subsidized enterprises, because the government gives them limited liability status, i.e. it makes it so that even though the shareholders control what the corporation does, they are not personally liable for damages due to what the corporation does, beyond the money they've invested.
Legalize and Regulate Marijuana WHEREAS, despite almost a century of prohibition, millions of Canadians today regularly consume marijuana and other cannabis products; WHEREAS the failed prohibition of marijuana has exhausted countless billions of dollars spent on ineffective or incomplete enforcement and has resulted in unnecessarily dangerous and expensive congestion in our judicial system; WHEREAS various marijuana decriminalization or legalization policy prescriptions have been recommended
by the 1969 - 72 Commission of Enquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, the 2002 Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, and the 2002 House of Commons Special Committee on the Non-Medical Use of Drugs; WHEREAS the legal status quo for the criminal regulation of marijuana continues to endanger Canadians
by generating significant resources for gang - related violent criminal activity and weapons smuggling — a reality which could be very easily confronted
by the regulation and legitimization of Canada's marijuana industry; BE IT RESOLVED that a new
Liberal government will legalize marijuana and ensure the regulation and
taxation of its production, distribution, and use, while enacting strict penalties for illegal trafficking, illegal importation and exportation, and impaired driving; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a new
Liberal government will invest significant resources in prevention and education programs designed to promote awareness of the health risks and consequences of marijuana use and dependency, especially amongst youth; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a new
Liberal government will extend amnesty to all Canadians previously convicted of simple and minimal marijuana possession, and ensure the elimination of all criminal records related thereto; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a new
Liberal government will work with the provinces and local governments of Canada on a coordinated regulatory approach to marijuana which maintains significant federal responsibility for marijuana control while respecting provincial health jurisdiction and particular regional concerns and practices.