Justin Trudeau: father Pierre’s influence made my late brother’s marijuana charge ‘go away’

Days after his government confirmed that its plans to legalise marijuana will not include a blanket pardon for those with past pot convictions, Justin Trudeau has admitted that his late brother was once charged with marijuana possession – and that their father’s resources and connections helped make the charge “go away”.

The Canadian prime minister’s comments, made at a town hall meeting hosted by Vice Media, came in response to a young Canadian who said he had been charged with pot possession.

Trudeau’s Liberal government tabled legislation earlier this month to fully legalise marijuana by mid-2018, putting Canada on course to become the first country in the G7 to do so.

But the legislation has since been criticised by some over its failure to include an amnesty for those with pot-related convictions – despite the government’s acknowledgment that those with criminal records often have trouble finding work, housing or travelling outside the country.

Speaking on Monday, Trudeau detailed how his brother Michel – six months before he died in an avalanche in British Columbia – had in 1998 been involved in a car accident.