Conservative senators trying to 'undermine' Canada's relationship with U.S.: Harder

Three Conservative senators who travelled to the U.S. to speak with federal government officials about Canada's plans to legalize recreational marijuana use are trying to undermine the relationship between Ottawa and Washington, says the federal Liberals' representative in the Senate.

Calling the trio'sdiscussionwith U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions"highly unusual,"Sen. Peter Harder criticized SenatorsClaudeCarignan,Pierre-HuguesBoisvenuand Denise Batters over their recent D.C. visit.

"The senators who undertook this visit do not speak for Canada," he said in an email to CBCNews.

"I regret that this includes meeting withAmerican cabinet officials in an effort to undermine the government of Canada's relationship with the American administration."

Sen. Batters dismisses the accusation.

"Absolutely, that was not what we were going there to do," she said, adding the group never suggested it spoke for the Canadian government.

Conservative Senator Denise Batters defends her D.C. trip

6 years ago

Duration 9:18

Denise Batters was one of three Conservative senators who went to Washington D.C. this week where they spoke with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions about Canada's plan to legalize cannabis.

The three senators said they went to Washington D.C. on Tuesday to try to get answers to outstanding questions about the impact of marijuana legalization on policy files such as border crossings and cross-border trade. Batters said they went south because they were not satisfied with the responses they've gotten to datefrom Canadian cabinet ministers.

"We always maintain a respectful tone with our U.S. counterparts. This was in no way a partisan trip. When senator Harder says that we don't speak for Canada we were there to speak for Canadians," Sen. Batters said.

Voicing concerns

In addition to meeting with Sessions, the Conservatives said they spoke with officials from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and political advisers for several U.S. senators and congressional representatives.

All three Conservative senators are vehemently opposed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau'splanto legalize marijuana. Sen.Boisvenucalled the proposed legalization a "piece of shit", though he later apologized for his choice of words.

Jeff Sessions is no fan of pot legalization either. He has instructed federal prosecutors to more aggressively enforce drug laws in states that have legalized cannabis, arguing that "marijuana is a dangerous drug."

"Our trip was about much more than one meeting," said Batters.

Power Panel on Tory senators' trip to Washington

6 years ago

Duration 6:38

Stockwell, Supriya, Sally and Chris weigh in on Conservative senators' trip to the U.S. to discuss legal pot.

She said she and her colleagues worryabout what could happen toCanadians who try to cross the U.S. border withmarijuana residue on their clothes or vehicles. She also expressed concerns about potential border delays, something Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said he hoped could be avoided when speaking before a Senate committee last month.

The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on the discussion.