Wynne promises to work with mayors on marijuana legalization

Premier Kathleen Wynne met with GTA and Hamilton-area mayors, and promised a clampdown on illegal storefront dispensaries and vowed to help municipalities cope with the legalization of weed.

Thestar.com
Sept. 26, 2017
By Robert Benzie

Premier Kathleen Wynne insists the province will not let Ontario cities go to pot once the federal government legalizes marijuana next July.

Wynne emerged from a meeting Tuesday with Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area mayors and regional chairs promising a clampdown on illegal storefront "dispensaries" and vowed to help municipalities cope with weed.

"The federal government's legalization of cannabis, of course, has implications for the province as we move to administer the rules," the premier told reporters.

"But the legalization of cannabis by the federal government also has implications for municipalities and that was the conversation today. We made it clear that we will work with municipalities."

Wynne admitted there are still many questions Ottawa must answer - how will marijuana will be taxed? - before Queen's Park can finalize any plan to aid cities with the new costs.

"One of the mayors said ... will there be licensing fees that we'll have access to? Will there be the opportunity for municipalities to raise their own revenues? What will be the resources that will flow from the provincial level to the municipal level?" she said.

"And, quite frankly, those issues are not all worked out, but they raised them and, so, that's an important piece of this. The issues around zoning were raised as well, and, so, we need to work out exactly what those regimes will be."

It was the premier's first meeting with the mayors and chairs since the province announced earlier this month that recreational marijuana would be sold only by the LCBO at up to 150 stores devoted to this purpose or online.

Attorney General Yasir Naqvi said he would be convening an "enforcement summit" with municipal leaders later this fall to discuss the outlaw shops.

"We've been very clear, from the very beginning, that these pot shops are illegal today and they will remain illegal once legalization takes place," said Naqvi.

"We will bring our ministers, municipal partners, our law enforcement partners, our police services so that we can determine, as one, as to what is the best way to make sure that these illegal stores are not in our communities," he said.

Toronto Mayor John Tory, who has expressed concern at the increased expenses municipalities will incur once marijuana is legal, said he was encouraged by the premier's comments.

"I raised the issue of municipal costs around marijuana legalization with her directly. Not only will municipalities ... get almost all of the calls on any aspect of these laws, complaints, enforcement ... we will have to follow up on them, not the OPP or the Ontario government," said Tory.

"This means we will not only have to have enforcement mechanisms, but also bylaw enforcement officers. I also pointed out ... that any savings accruing because of fewer court cases will accrue to the province and we will be left with additional costs.

"One of the key points I will be stressing as we work out these details is that we need this financial support at the beginning of legalization, whether the province has collected any money from the sale of marijuana or not."

Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey said she was also encouraged by what she heard from the province.

"There's a lot of moving pieces to this (federal) legislation," said Jeffrey.

"At the end of the day, the rubber hits the road at municipalities. Obviously the federal government is moving forward on it. We want to be responsible and thorough.

"The premier is interested in our feedback on how to make this work in the future."

Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua praised Wynne's "measured approach," but cautioned the federal government will have to step up.

"It's obviously a cultural shift in our country. It's going to require attention, but I think the premier has struck the right chord on this one," said Bevilacqua.

"There should be some costs attached ... , so they have to find ways to get that funding to the local municipalities, because, as always, those are costs we bear."

Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown said Wynne's marijuana plan appears to be half-baked.

"We all know the reason they made this announcement, rushing the framework, was a distraction to the two Liberal political corruption trials," said Brown, referring to court proceedings in Toronto and Sudbury.