Panel backs proposed pot licence regulations

A city council committee voted to support a list of recommended regulations to be included in a new cannabis business licence bylaw in Saskatoon, including a proposed $20,000 initial licence fee.

The recommendations presented by city staff to the planning, development and community services committee will shape the cannabis business bylaw expected to go before city council for approval later this month.

The recommendations include fees of $20,000 for the initial licence and $10,000 for annual renewals; they also include a separation distance of 160 metres between cannabis businesses. Other regulations would affect visual signage and the installation of mandatory air filtration systems.

A report to the committee from city staff said the proposed licence fee would help offset the costs to the city for staff time devoted to developing municipal regulations ahead of the expected legalization of cannabis by the federal government.

Staff have already been required to defer work on other items because of the “unbudgeted work” on cannabis related items, said Randy Grauer, general manager of the community services department.

The equivalent of one full-time senior staff position has been devoted to cannabis-related work over the past year, he said.

Coun. Darren Hill, the committee’s chair, said the proposed licence fee is no surprise for the people he’s spoken with in the cannabis sector. They were expecting a fee of $30,000, similar to that charged by the City of Vancouver, he said.

LUCRATIVE VENTURES

“By no means will I ever entertain a penny of citizens of Saskatoon property tax going towards all of the administration, the costs associated with the seven retail cannabis outlets. They’re going to be extremely lucrative, private, for-profit ventures, that should be funded by their business licence fee,” Hill said after the committee met on Wednesday.

Comparing licence fees for cannabis retailers to liquor establishments and other businesses is like comparing apples to oranges, he said.

“Count how many liquor establishments, whether they have a soft liquor licence or a hard liquor licence or a night club or a lounge licence, that we’re able to spread our administrative cost over. We have seven, seven cannabis stores to cover at least the minimum of one senior full-time person to do all the work on this.”

During the meeting, Mayor Charlie Clark said he didn’t realize the administration would bring forward something of this “magnitude” until Tuesday. Typically, the city charges $125 for an initial licence and $85 for an annual renewal.

However, Clark said he agrees with the principle the administration’s proposal. He is looking for more clarity from staff before the June 25 council meeting on what other municipalities are doing and what costs the city has incurred and could incur in the future, he said.

“We have no clear indication from other levels of government if there’s going to be a cost sharing component to this. In order to accommodate these seven licences and for these business to operate, there is a lot of effort and time from our administration,” Clark said after the meeting.

He is in favour of cost recovery through funding transfers from provincial excise taxes on cannabis sales, he said.

The amount the seven licensees would pay the city in their first year — $140,000 — would “not touch the amount of expense that’s gone into sorting this out,” he added.

“It’s another case where the federal government has made a decision and we’re on the front lines of actually administering it. We’re not going to generate a profit out of these circumstances. I can guarantee that.”