Kelowna wants cut of profits from pot
Mayor says share of taxes from sale of legal marijuana should go to municipalities to cover extra policing costs
Municipalities should get a share of tax revenue collected by the provincial government when marijuana becomes legal, says Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran.
“We want to make sure we get our cut of the profits,” Basran said Monday from the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference in Vancouver.
If the government ultimately chooses to allow private stores to sell pot next year, additional policing costs are likely to arise to ensure such operations abide by all relevant rules and regulations, Basran said.
The government should share pot-related taxes with municipalities much the same way it gives cities a share of gaming revenues, he said. Funds the city receives through this program are put directly into the policing budget.
Basran also said he expects that municipalities would retain the right to regulate, should they choose to do so, where pot shops could set up through zoning and bylaw mechanisms.
“We want to be able to control where these businesses could be located,” Basran said, adding such considerations could include requiring a certain distance from schools and not allowing them in residential areas.
On Monday, the NDP government announced a fiveweek public consultation process on the future of cannabis.
The government wants to solicit input from residents as well as local government, First Nations and industry on how it can best protect children and keep roads safe after the federal government legalizes marijuana on July 1.
Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said while the timeline imposed by the federal government is tight, the public must have a chance to propose ideas and raise concerns.
“The best public policy isn’t imposed from up above,” he told reporters. “The best public policy is made when there’s a sense that people understand the questions . . . and they feel they’ve had a say.”
The consultation process is scheduled to last until Nov. 1 to allow the B.C. government time to draft regulations ahead of the spring session of the legislature, which must happen in order to have a law in place by next Canada Day, Farnworth said.
Federal legislation has yet to be finalized, but the provinces will have the power to regulate the retail sale of marijuana and to upgrade traffic safety laws to protect people on the roads from cannabis-impaired drivers.
Farnworth said some elements of the provincial regulatory framework will have to be universal, such as the distribution model and the minimum age of consumption, but it must also give municipalities room to manoeuvre based on the wishes of local residents.
“I don’t see any reason at all why we have to have a one-sizefits-all approach in terms of retail distribution in British Columbia,” he said.
Perry Kendall, B.C.’s chief medical officer, spoke earlier Monday to convention delegates about his work with the national task force on legalizing and regulating marijuana,
and about the challenge of striking the right balance.
Kendall spoke of how health experts concerned about the impact of marijuana on developing brains urge a minimum age of 25, but that kind of policy would relegate a significant number of young users out of reach and into the black market.
Provinces have put pressure on the federal government to push back the July 1 timeline, echoing public health and safety concerns
raised by police agencies and youth health experts.
Ontario became the first province to release details of its plans to regulate cannabis, saying it will impose a minimum age of 19 for consumption, restrict sales to certain government liquor stores and limit pot use solely to private residences.
Alberta is partially through its own public consultation, while Quebec’s wrapped up earlier this month.