'Full-blown stench': Stouffville teen launches petition calling for cannabis facility probe

Facility on Woodbine made news in 2019 when York Regional Police found it was operating with 4 Health Canada licences allowing 1,752 cannabis plants to be grown.

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 3, 2021
Simon Martin

When 17-year-old Whitchurch-Stouffville resident Chloe McMillan started biking around her neighbourhood of Preston Lake this past summer, she noticed an odd smell.

“A very strong weed smell. Like a big group of people have been smoking,” she said.  

McMillan had heard people in the neighbourhood complain about the smell before. She said people believed it came from a nearby indoor cannabis facility.

The facility on Woodbine Avenue, just north of Bloomington Road, made the news in 2019. At that time an inspection of the licensed indoor cannabis facility, by York Regional Police, found it was operating with four combined Health Canada medical cannabis licences that allowed for 1,752 cannabis plants to be grown.

Investigators found more than 6,000 plants in various stages of production in the 10,000-square-foot facility. Three men were arrested at the scene. According to the YRP there was stay of proceedings on the charges at the location. Const. Laura Nicolle said that means they weren’t withdrawn and they weren’t convicted, they were just paused and could be revisited later, depending on circumstances

The arrests haven’t seemed to deter the operation.

“It’s definitely not pleasant when you go for a nice bike ride. We have a lot of kids in the neighbourhood,” McMillan said. 

Some neighbours, she said, have complained about what smells like chemicals.

When McMillan told her mom about the situation, she told her to work on solving the issue.

The Grade 12 student contacted Rod Boudreau, another concerned resident in the Preston Lake neighbourhood.  

Boudreau has many concerns about the current operation.

He said it is very well-hidden from the road. But while the operators do a good job of shielding the facility from public view, they do a poor job of shielding it from public smell.

“It a full-blown stench,” he said. “A lot of times it felt like there was a skunk.”

Boudreau said it's sad that residents are dealing with this smell every day and nothing is being done about it. “It’s gone too far,” he said.

Boudreau contacted his local Ward 3 Coun. Hugo Kroon about the matter, but said he was told the town’s hands were tied on the matter because it was a police issue.

When contacted by the Stouffville Sun-Tribune, Kroon said he is aware of the situation and shares residents’ frustrations.  The town is also aware of situation. Spokesperson Glenn Jackson said staff is preparing a report for council and will be seeking direction from them on producing a framework for dealing with cannabis cultivation in town.

With no action on the imminent horizon, McMillan started a petition earlier this month to raise awareness and spur some movement from various governments. “We want an investigation into the facility,” McMillan said.  She said residents want to know if the facility has the proper permits and proper ventilation and if chemicals are being used, are the operators following the proper safety regulations.

The petition on change.org already had more than 350 signatures in a little more than a week. 

McMillan was surprised at how quickly the petition took off.

“It has blown up pretty quickly,” she said.

Preston Lake resident Nancy Faber is one of those concerned about the facility.

“If these people are operating illegally, they should be shut down,” she said. “Every time I drive by. It starts bothering me -- from the highway until I’m into our neighbourhood.”

Faber said she also has environmental concerns about the facility, due to its proximity to the watershed.  

The owner of the facility could not be reached for comment.