Bevilacqua won't guarantee Vaughan will get legal marijuana store
'We respect the law, but we need the resources to make sure we can facilitate the implementation of the law'

YorkRegion.com
Dec. 13, 2017
Tim Kelly

It's all a little bit hazy right now when it comes to legal marijuana and the City of Vaughan.

Despite being chosen earlier this fall by the province as one of the first 14 municipalities in Ontario to host a marijuana store once the substance becomes legal July 1, little has happened in Vaughan to date.

Asked about the issue at a recent public announcement, Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua refused to commit the city to a legal marijuana store by July, 1, 2018.

"We respect the law, but we need the resources to make sure we can facilitate the implementation of the law," said Bevilacqua, who demurred when asked several times about whether he could "guarantee" the city would have a legal marijuana store by next July 1.

"The issue requires further examination. We've got to address what the costs are," he said.

"We need to really look at the impact this will have on our city. I think the feds and the province have to come up with a plan that will also address financial downloading that occurs when such a new law is implemented."

Bevilacqua said conversations are taking place now and that this issue "is not something any level of government should take lightly."

There have been no committee or council meetings addressing the issue to date, however, the city has created a cannibis working group made up of members of its bylaw, planning, building standards, legal services, policy planning and environmental sustainability, finance, Vaughan Fire and Rescue departments and with its partners from the region, York Regional Police and York Region Public Health.

On Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Woodbridge-Vaughan MP Francesco Sorbara will host a town hall on cannabis regulations with guest MP Bill Blair, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. It takes place at Vellore Village Community Centre Cafetorium at 1 Villa Royale Ave., Woodbridge.

"We have concerns about the costs incurred and there are serious concerns that need to be addressed by sitting down and having serious conversations," Bevilacqua said.