By Pat Warren
KAWARTHA LAKES-The City could lose a lot of money if council decides to opt out of allowing retail cannabis stores in the municipality.
At the meeting on December 11th, Council heard from CAO Ron Taylor and Senior Licensing Officer Alix Scarr on the two choices facing Council regarding Cannabis stores in COKL and what’s at stake whichever direction they decide to go.
Here are some of the presentation highlights.
Currently the sale of Cannabis in Ontario is presently controlled by the provincially run Ontario Cannabis Store. Consumers may purchase the product exclusively online through the Ontario Cannabis Store and the product is delivered to the purchaser via Canada Post.
The federal Cannabis Act outlines rules and regulations for the production, distribution, sale, and possession of cannabis and establishes the overarching legislative framework for cannabis in Canada. Provinces and territories have been given the ability to set their own rules with respect to the sale, distribution, purchase, possession, transportation, cultivation, and consumption of cannabis.
Municipalities on the other hand will have very little input into the licensing process and will not be able to create specific zoning or municipal licensing by-laws restricting, regulating, or prohibiting private recreational cannabis retail storefronts.
These stores will be permitted where retail stores are permitted under the applicable zoning by-law. Municipalities and the public will have input on applications for private recreational cannabis retail storefronts in our community through the 15-day public consultation period. Staff will monitor the AGCO website daily and implement an internal consultation process and provide comment on applications to the AGCO.
The first private recreational cannabis retail storefronts will open in Ontario on April 1, 2019 and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) will begin accepting applications for Private Recreational Cannabis Storefront licences on December 17, 2019.
Retail cannabis storefronts must be 150 metres from any school (public, private, elementary, secondary, etc.) and retail cannabis stores and staff will be licensed, regulated, and inspected by the AGCO.
In Ontario, retailers will not be permitted to allow anyone under the age of 19 to enter their stores. Specific instances in which applicants will be denied a licence, include cannabis-related criminal offences and any individual or organization who has an association with organized crime. Individuals or entities applying for an operator licence must demonstrate tax compliance status to show that they are in good standing with the government. A requirement is for all private recreational cannabis retail storefronts to be stand-alone stores only. Individuals with a store authorization, cannabis retail managers and all retail employees will be required to complete the approved training to ensure that any individual who works in the cannabis retail market is trained in the responsible sale of cannabis.
The Province has set a deadline of January 22, 2019 for municipalities to opt-in or opt-out of having private recreational cannabis retail storefronts located in their municipalities. If the City opts-in to private recreational cannabis retail storefronts – The City will receive a minimum of $100,000 provincial funding to offset costs of enforcement and other effects of legalization. If Ontario’s portion of the federal excise duty on recreational cannabis over the first two years of legalization exceeds $100 million, the province would provide 50% of the surplus to municipalities that have opted-in. The city can not opt out at a later date.
If the City opts-out of private recreational cannabis retail storefronts, the City will still receive $100,000 in provincial funding to offset costs of enforcement and other effects of legalization. The City can opt-in at a later date but will not be eligible for any excise duty surplus pay-outs. Legal cannabis will still be available and present in the City via the (OCS) Ontario Cannabis Store online, personal growing, and from private recreational cannabis retail storefronts in neighbouring municipalities.
Private recreational cannabis retail storefront operators will be required to purchase all product from the Ontario Cannabis Store to ensure the safety of the product being consumed by the public. Stores will be required to meet specific requirements for signage, display, security measures, hours of service, etc. There are also restrictions on the number of stores one entity can own so there can’t be a monopoly.
CAO Ron Taylor said that policy changes are being received weekly from the Province.
Deputy Mayor Doug Elmslie asked staff whether the licensing start date of December 17th would be detrimental to smaller operations if they were to apply and the municipality didn’t go forward by the January deadline? The answer that came from the province was no and the licensing fee would probably be rebated. Even though the application intake begins on December 17th, the process won’t start until January 22nd.
Elmslie also asked whether it wouldn’t be wise to make a motion to move ahead today rather than wait but Mayor Letham wanted to wait until the January meeting as new information may be forthcoming.
Councillor O’Reilly asked whether there was any recourse for a store owner who didn’t want a Cannabis store next to them and again the answer was no. It will be up to the owner of the building who they rent to, if a license has been approved.
Councillor Yeo enquired whether there was anything in the city bylaws to limit the number of cannabis stores and again staff replied no. The only stipulation is that cannabis stores will not be close to any school.
After hearing about the policies around funding from the Province, Yeo stated that the municipality should move quickly into the process.” We have to dive into it and not wait”
Staff will bring forward a report for the January 15, 2019 Council meeting with further background information and options. Staff will continue to monitor information and program details as made available by the Province.
 photo credit: ChelseyHerba Cherry Pie CJ via photopin (license)
