He's Got To Be Kidding

Peter MacKay has accused Justin Trudeau of committing a criminal offence by smoking pot. But Althia Raj, of The Huffington Post, writes:

While it is illegal to grow, traffic or possess marijuana, smoking weed is not a criminal offence.

University of Ottawa professor Amir Attaran has written to the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society asking that they investigate MacKay, a former provincial Crown prosecutor and, as the current Attorney General of Canada, the person charged with enforcing the rules of the land, for unprofessional conduct as a lawyer.

It's an important distinction which MacKay should have known about. And his failure to note that distinction goes straight to the issue of whether Canada's Minister of Justice tells the truth. The record on that score, Michael Harris writes, is pretty clear:

The F-35 debacle was the former Defence Minister’s credibility Waterloo. There were the two sets of books his Department kept for the project – one with the real price tag for cabinet, and the other that was $10 billion lower for parliamentary and public consumption. Remember when the former minister said this in the House of Commons in December 2010?

“Mr. Speaker, let us look at the actual contract. What the Canadian government has committed to is a $9-billion contract for the acquisition of 65 fifth-generation aircraft. This includes not just the aircraft, but also includes the on-board systems, supporting infrastructure, initial spares, training simulators, contingency funds. This is a terrific investment for the Canadian Forces.”

Then there was the matter of the cost of the mission to Libya:

He told the CBC in October 2011 that Canada’s part in bringing down Colonel Muammar Gaddafi cost $50 million.

But a senior Canadian officer, Major-General Jonathan Vance, said the minister had been told before the interview that the final cost would be $106 million. MacKay simply denied he had been told the higher figure – leaving Canadians to choose between the credibility of the general or the only Harper cabinet minister to be twice fined for violating Canada’s Conflict of Interest Act.

And, of course, there was that promise he made to David Orchard:

And then there is that matter of winning the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives on the promise to David Orchard never to merge John A. MacDonald’s party with the Canadian Alliance.  So much for credibility.

MacKay claims that Trudeau's credibility is "up in smoke." He's got to be kidding.