Milton opts in to retail cannabis stores

Council votes to allow legal pot shops

Yorkregion.com
November 4, 2019
Bambang Sadewo

Council members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of allowing cannabis retail stores in town, making Milton the third municipality in Halton Region to do so -- following Burlington and Halton Hills.

Prior to Monday's meeting, Coun. Rick Di Lorenzo told the Champion that a lack of local cannabis stores will only encourage more illegal cannabis sales.

“When we don’t opt in, it becomes a safety concern because then people who want to purchase cannabis, which is legal now in Canada, don’t have a retail venue to visit. If they’re not going to go to Burlington or Toronto, the worry is what if they purchase it off of the black market,” he said.

Di Lorenzo says the same can apply to buying untested and potentially dangerous marijuana online, a business model that’s reportedly flourishing due to a lack of legal options.

In making the recommendation, Town staff took into account recent remarks from Halton Police Chief Steve Tanner, as well as community feedback. An online survey conducted by the town to gauge public’s opinion shows that 57.4 per cent supported having cannabis outlets here and 41.1 per cent against.

Coun. Mike Cluett was on the opposing side last year, saying that council members “were under the gun with a (tight) time-frame and deadline.”

Now, having seen the “generally positive” public feedback and the impacts on other municipalities that opted in, he changed his stance and supported staff’s recommendation.

“It's been a long year talking to residents, going over the reports,” he said at the meeting. “I would like to say that my mind has been not necessarily completely put at ease, but a little bit more at ease into saying that we move forward with allowing cannabis retail in Milton.”

Both councillors agree that marijuana should be kept out of the hands of children and youth -- and that the retail locations have to be at least 150 meters away from schools, daycare centres and public facilities.

Cluett also believes there’s room for negotiation with the Province to increase the distance between the stores and “places of concern.”

Echoing comments from Mayor Gord Krantz about the many interests that Miltonians have in setting up a cannabis shop, Cluett said he knows people that “are either applying or have applied” for the license.

“They are aware of those (location) concerns,” he said, adding that the Town will work with those who do get the licences to ensure that they’re in proper areas.

Coun. Sameera Ali was the sole dissenting vote Monday.

“The argument that this will bring in more economy and more money to the town, I don’t think that’s a valid argument,” she said, noting that whether it's a cannabis store or a candy store -- the Town will get similar property tax revenue.

Following the decision to opt in, Town staff will inform the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) -- a provincial agency that is responsible for regulating cannabis retail, among others -- that cannabis stores are now permitted to operate within the Town of Milton.

There’s no word yet when AGCO will hold the third cannabis retail store lottery draw