One of the first decisions the new city council will have to make after the Oct. 22 election is whether to allow a retail cannabis store to operate in Greater Sudbury.
That's because the current city council is leaning toward putting off a decision until after the vote.
“It's expected any decision to opt in or out will be made by the incoming city council,” city spokesperson Shannon Dowling said in an email Thursday.
Some councils in the province have already made the decision, not wanting to hand it to a new council that may have a large learning curve, and that will have to begin budget talks almost immediately.
Last month, the Doug Ford government dropped a plan devised by the former Liberal government to sell legal weed through government-run stores. Instead, the province will offer online sales only through the Cannabis Store, with the retail model being unveiled in April 2019.
Recreational marijuana will become legal on Oct. 17, a few days before municipal election day. Until private sales kick off next spring, legal weed will only be available in the province to individuals 19 and older through the online Ontario Cannabis Store.
At the Association of Municipalities Ontario meeting in Ottawa last month, Nicole Stewart of the provincial finance ministry told delegates the province will release the dates for when they have to make a decision before the Oct. 22 vote.
“It will likely be quite a short window to meet those timelines that we’re trying to achieve for April, and so for that reason, municipalities should plan to consider this question as a first order of business when they return after the municipal elections are completed,” Stewart said.
On Tuesday, councillors in North Bay voted to opt in to have a retail cannabis store. North Bay councillor Mac Bain, who introduced the motion, said the province will lay down the rules and regulations, such as determining the proximity of the stores to schools.
“For me it wasn’t a difficult decision because cannabis is here today,” said Bain.
“The decision to have a brick and mortar store is just an extension of what the rules will be in the Province of Ontario. It was an easy decision for me to make because the City of North Bay is not in a position to turn away any type of business. We need a strong business community and I’m strongly against just having one product sold online and not having a brick and mortar store.”
While they're not expected to make a decision before Oct. 22, Dowling said in her email a report on the issue is being prepared.
“Staff is bringing a report to council at the end of September that will outline the changes to the provincial retail model and give an overview of what's been done by the city to date,” Dowling said.
