Municipalities get $40M for pot law enforcement
Impaired drivers one target of new provincial handout
TORONTO — The Ontario government will give municipalities
$40 million from its share of federal marijuana taxes to help cover law enforcement and safety costs associated with pot legalization, it announced Friday.
The money — which will be provided to municipalities upfront, beginning before legalization takes effect later this year — will come from the first two years of federal excise duties on producers of recreational pot.
“This funding will ensure that Ontario’s municipalities have dedicated resources for cannabis enforcement,” said Marie-France Lalonde, minister of community safety and correctional services.
“Ontario will continue working with law enforcement agencies to protect our communities from illegal cannabis activity, and to keep impaired drivers off the road.”
The money will be provided to municipalities based on the number of households they have, but will be adjusted so every municipality gets a minimum of $10,000.
If Ontario receives more than $100 million from federal marijuana tax over the course of two years, it will give half the surplus to municipalities.
The province will also earn money through the sale of marijuana at provincially-licensed stores and online. The government revealed Friday that its pot-selling agency will be known as the Ontario Cannabis Store.
Ontario is also creating a Cannabis Intelligence Co-ordination Centre to help shut down illegal storefront pot dispensaries and pay for training to help police across the province recognize and stop drug-impaired drivers. It will assemble a legal team to support the prosecution of drugimpaired drivers.
“We want to ensure Ontarians are protected from the dangers of drug-impaired driving and the sale of illegal, unregulated and potentially unsafe cannabis,” said Attorney General Yasir Naqvi.
“That is why it is so important that our municipal and enforcement partners have the tools they need to take down illegal cannabis stores, better detect impaired drivers and prosecute offenders.”
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario said it was pleased to see Ontario help local governments with local needs arising from Canada’s new marijuana laws.