Looking for controversy in the debate over the pending legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada is a bit like looking for the sun on a cloudless summer day: very easy to find.

Still, one branding-related facet of the discourse that grabbed our attention this week was Denise Batters’ criticism of Health Canada’s proposed logo for its plain marijuana packaging.

Batters, a conservative senator from Saskatchewan, believes the logo looks far too similar to two used by Hockey Canada – the nation’s governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey. Batters takes umbrage with the similarity, in part because she feels the THC packaging logo could hold appeal to minors. We don’t have a strong opinion, but we could see Batters point if kids were to associate the THC logo with hockey – the national sport of Canada that many children grow up playing and loving.

Anyway, check out the logos below. What do you make of Batters’ criticism?

#Trudeau govt says #marijuana legalization law prohibits advertising "appealing to young people". Yet, image 1 is Health Canada-designed marijuana logo. Images 2 & 3 are @TeamCanada hockey logos. Exact colours. So similar. #NotAppealingToYouth? #C45 pic.twitter.com/Htv7TagTuk

— Sen. Denise Batters (@denisebatters) March 21, 2018

During a hearing this week, Batters grilled Eric Costen for answers about how the proposed logo will not appeal to young folks, HuffPost Canada reported. Costen, director general of the health department’s cannabis legalization and regulation branch, “made a brief and introductory foray into semiotics saying red is a universal color for ‘stop.’ He added the hexagon shape of the logo mirrors the eight sides of a stop sign,” HuffPost stated.

Proposed packaging with health warning labels. Source: Health Canada

The logo debate is, of course, part of the broader controversy surrounding legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada. On Thursday, legal cannabis proponents scored a victory when The Cannabis Act (Bill C-45) passed a second reading in the Senate by a vote of 44-29, which highlights that a noticeable minority oppose legalization or at least legalization under the act as it is currently written.

Even so, the result opened the door for further study and set the stage for a final reading in June. Marijuana proponents have eyed this year’s Canada Day – July 1 – as the date for legalization to go into effect. Given uncertainty over advertising/marketing restrictions, Canadian promotional product distributors are unclear to what extent, if any, they’ll be able to capitalize on a new legal cannabis market, should it come to fruition. ASI Canada reports that a number of distributors forecast tight restrictions on promotions.