Posts by Senator Betty Unger

21 40 of 99 items

The sad anniversary of big commercial pot in Colorado

by Senator Betty Unger

Reprinted from the Colorado Springs Gazette Opinion | November 9, 2017 This week marks the fifth anniversary of Colorado’s decision to sanction the world’s first anything-goes commercial pot trade. Five years later, we remain an embarrassing cautionary tale. Visitors to Colorado remark about a new agricultural smell, the wafting odor of pot as they drive […]

Marijuana Use: Detrimental to Youth – American College of Pediatricians

by Senator Betty Unger

Marijuana Use: Detrimental to Youth American College of Pediatricians – April 2017 ABSTRACT: Although increasing legalization of marijuana has contributed to the growing belief that marijuana is harmless, research documents the risks of its use by youth are grave. Marijuana is addicting, has adverse effects upon the adolescent brain, is a risk for both cardio-respiratory disease […]

Colorado politicians ignore major pot problems

by Senator Betty Unger

Reprinted from the Colorado Springs Gazette Gov. John Hickenlooper and Sen. Cory Gardner don’t seem to care much about the toll recreational marijuana imposes on Colorado. Each reacted with righteous indignation to the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the Obama administration’s lax pot policies. “It’s not a black market anymore. It’s not a criminal activity, […]

New Study: Legalization of marijuana results in increased use

by Senator Betty Unger

NEW STATE DATA: Legalization States Show Higher Marijuana Use Versus U.S. As A Whole New Federal Data Show Legalized States Marijuana Use At Alarming Rates; Colorado Now Top State in US for First-Time Marijuana Users Other legal states also show alarming increases in use By Luke Niforatos | December 12, 2017 | SAM’s News The average rate of regular […]

Trudeau is being reckless with marijuana legalization

by Senator Betty Unger

Why is the federal government in such a hurry to pass its marijuana legalization legislation when there are still so many questions and so few answers? Just this week, the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police said that the legislation is coming too fast, stating that, “There is insufficient time to prepare the necessary legislative […]

Fourteen Albertans awarded the Senate 150th Medal

by Senator Betty Unger

Fourteen Albertans awarded the Senate 150th Medal in recognition of significant contributions made to their communities EDMONTON, November 14, 2017 – Fourteen Albertans were today awarded the Senate of Canada’s 150th Commemorative Medal in recognition of their significant contributions to their communities.  Recipients were chosen from nominations submitted to Senator Betty Unger from Albertans during […]

Minister of Justice Gutting Protection for Faith Communities with Bill C-51

by Senator Betty Unger

MP David Anderson calls on faith leaders to defend their rights FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 24 October 2017 Ottawa, ON – David Anderson, Member of Parliament for Cypress Hills—Grasslands and Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Human Rights and Religious Freedom, today expressed concern in Question Period with comments made by the Minister of Justice, Jody Wilson-Raybould regarding bill C-51 […]

Fourteen Albertans to receive a Senate 150th Medal in recognition of significant contributions made to their communities

by Senator Betty Unger

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OTTAWA, October 19, 2017 – Fourteen Albertans have been selected to receive the Senate of Canada’s 150th Commemorative Medal in recognition of their significant contributions to their communities.  Recipients were chosen from nominations submitted to Senator Betty Unger from Albertans during the summer-long nomination process. “I was delighted to receive […]

Questions but no answers from the government on Energy East

by Senator Betty Unger

Today I asked the Leader of the Government in the Senate two specific questions about the cancellation of the Energy East project, on behalf of Albertans and all Canadians. Unfortunately, I received no real answers.  Hon. Betty Unger: My question for the Leader of the Government in the Senate also concerns today’s cancellation of the […]

Senator Unger’s Statement on the Edmonton Terrorist Attack

by Senator Betty Unger

Honourable colleagues, it was shocking and heart-wrenching to hear about the terrorist attack that took place in Edmonton on Saturday night. Around 8:15 pm, fans were at Commonwealth Stadium cheering on our Edmonton Eskimos when a man driving a car crashed through traffic barricades, deliberately striking Police Constable Mike Chernyk than smashing into his police […]

REALITY CHECK: Will legalizing marijuana reduce youth consumption?

by Senator Betty Unger

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau believes that legalization will keep marijuana out of the hands of youth.  He’s wrong. Consider the following: In 2012, Colorado legalized the recreational use of marijuana. This halted a four-year trend of declining marijuana use amongst youth. Colorado now leads the nation for marijuana usage amongst 12 – 17 year olds. […]

M-103 talk turns to prosecution, censorship

by Senator Betty Unger

Toronto Sun – Postmedia Network After the first M-103 hearing on Monday, I wrote that we were perhaps facing a less adversarial process than expected. Liberal MP Iqra Khalid was conciliatory as the initial witness, emphasizing that her motion to tackle discrimination was equally about all religions and races. She hardly mentioned the ill-defined phrase […]

REALITY CHECK: Will legalizing marijuana make the black market go away?

by Senator Betty Unger

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claims that legalizing marijuana will shut down the black market and remove the criminal element. There’s only one problem — the police disagree, the experts disagree and the experience disagrees. RCMP: Legalizing marijuana won’t shut down black market “There are a number of issues that will need to be addressed to […]

Legalized Marijuana: Challenges facing the state of Colorado

by Senator Betty Unger

The following 19-minute documentary takes a look at some of the challenges facing the state of Colorado subsequent to the legalization of marijuana. I encourage you to find time to watch it, as we would do well to consider the experience of those who have traveled down this road already. From the video: “The crime […]

Senate of Canada 150 Medal Nominations

by Senator Betty Unger

Senate of Canada 150 Medal Recommendation for Nomination Senator Betty Unger is welcoming recommendations of outstanding Albertans to receive the Senate of Canada 150 medal. The medal celebrates the sesquicentennial anniversary of the first sitting of the Senate on November 6, 1867. The medal was created to mark this important occasion and to give an […]

Bill C-51: Religious Freedom at Risk in Canada?

by Senator Betty Unger

Dear Friends: I wanted share with you my concern over a Bill that the Government of Canada has recently introduced into the House of Commons, Bill C-51. One of the purposes of this Bill is to streamline the Criminal Code of Canada by removing certain provisions that no longer have any relevance in contemporary society. […]

Illegal Pronouns: Letter to the Editor of the National Post

by Senator Betty Unger

Re: Bill C-16: Human rights have become a zero- sum game, Bruce Pardy, June 19 Bruce Pardy does an excellent job of outlining the very real concern that Bill C-16 will compel speech. We can now only hope the courts will acknowledge that gender rights are belief-based and treat them accordingly. Gender is not like […]

Government doublespeak on closure of Vegreville Case Processing Centre continues

by Senator Betty Unger

Vegreville Case Processing Centre Hon. Betty Unger:  Honourable senators, my question is for Senator Harder.  It’s a follow up on the Vegreville questions.  It’s difficult to find anyone outside of Liberal government who agrees with the decision to clinical trials the Vegreville case processing centre.  In fact, the list of communities, councillors, associations and parliamentarians […]