Whereas local municipalities are being given no control on the location, or the number, of retail Cannabis stores in their communities;
Whereas there are a number of outstanding questions regarding the economic and social impact of the establishment of a new legal retail system for cannabis in Ontario;
Whereas there is uncertainty regarding the number of retail stores that may be allowed to open and regarding the amount of revenue to be shared;
Whereas municipalities are only being given until January the 22nd 2019 to opt in or opt out;
Whereas a municipality may opt out and later opt in but cannot opt out once they have opted in;
Now therefore be it resolved:
- That the report entitled Recreational Cannabis dated January 7th, 2019 be received as information; and,
- That Newmarket Town Council advise the Hon. Victor Fedeli, Minister of Finance; the Hon. Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Francophone Affairs and Attorney General; and the Hon. Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, that Newmarket is not a willing host of a cannabis retail locations in our community; and,
- That the Town Clerk be directed to provide the required notice of Council's decision to opt-out of permitting retail cannabis stores to (i) the Registrar under the Alcohol, Cannabis, and Gaming Regulation and Public Protection Act, 1996, (ii) the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), and (iii) the Province of Ontario within three (3) business days of the date of passing; and,
- That Council express to the Ontario government its position that municipalities should be given greater planning authority over the location of private retail cannabis stores; and,
- That Council express to the Ontario government that regardless of whether a municipality is a willing host of a retail store, the Province be requested to enter into a revenue sharing arrangement with all Ontario municipalities, to ensure local governments receive an appropriate share of the revenue generated from cannabis sales to help offset the associated enforcement, public health and social costs that will be incurred by municipalities regardless of a retail presence or not; and,
- That Staff be directed to continue to review information regarding cannabis retail stores as it becomes available as well as the experiences of other comparable municipalities to be brought back to Council in the form of a report approximately one year from today for further consideration; and,
- That Staff be directed to prepare amendments or new by-laws as required and return with recommendations as to how the smoking and vaping of cannabis in public places should be regulated in Newmarket by March/April 2019; and,
- That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Hon. Christine Elliott, Member of Provincial Parliament for Newmarket-Aurora.