East Gwillimbury calls for greater government co-ordination on marijuana facilities

Number of facilities have been built without zoning permission: town

Yorkregion.com
July 6, 2020
Simon Martin

East Gwillimbury council is making it abundantly clear it is not happy with the current cannabis regulation that has seen a spike of greenhouses in rural communities. At the June 23 meeting, council passed a resolution requesting the minister of health and attorney general establish a multi-partner committee to co-ordinate efforts and increase communications between governments as well as police services. According to the town, the coordination will help to ensure that facilities are fully compliant with all levels of legislation.

The town says it currently has a number of facilities where individuals have used personal medical licences to establish significant cannabis production facilities without required municipal approvals such as zoning permissions, building permits, and emergency service inspections.

“This is a difficult issue to navigate as the majority of licensing and regulations have been created by Health Canada, and yet there have not been appropriate communications or tools provided to municipalities to ensure that these facilities are created in a safe and controlled manner,” Mayor Virginia Hackson said. “Council passed this resolution to invite the minister of health, the attorney general and other rural municipalities to the table to begin discussions to ensure that those who wish to grow medical cannabis are able to do so in a safe manner.”

The move is the latest move by East Gwillimbury council aimed at the proliferation of marijuana greenhouses in the municipality. On June 9, council passed an interim control bylaw restricting the development of cannabis production facilities outside of industrial zoned areas for one year as it evaluates the situation.

Hackson said that while the town saw a few greenhouses erected in 2019, things have really gotten intense this year with eight properties being used for marijuana production, according to the town. Oftentimes the greenhouses are built without notice or the proper permits. “They go up relatively quickly without ever coming to the town,” Hackson said. “There is something wrong here.”  

The town has attempted to use the tools at its disposal, including four cease-and-desist notices, three orders to comply and two stop work orders, but the conventional tools haven’t been effective in addressing council’s concerns.

Hackson said the new interim control bylaw will allow the town to enforce a stop work order by use of injunction. “We can stop anything that is going on,” Hackson said, although the bylaw doesn’t affect facilities that are already operational.

Ward 3 Coun. Scott Crone called the matter the single biggest issue before council.

Council is requesting that if anyone has questions or concerns about a facility that appears to be proceeding without the necessary permissions and approvals to email the town’s bylaw department at bylaws@eastgwillimbury.ca or contact the municipal enforcement branch directly at 905-478-4282 ext. 1123. For more information residents are encouraged to visit www.eastgwillimbury.ca/cannabis