Mayoral candidates not saying yes or no to private pot

Peterborough isn’t getting a government-run cannabis store after all, but neither candidate for mayor in the forthcoming election is taking a firm stance on whether privately run pot shops have a place in the city.

The provincial government announced this week it will sell marijuana online and allow “tightly regulated” private retail weed shops to open starting April 1.

Municipalities will be allowed to reject privately run pot shops in their boundaries, Premier Doug Ford’s government says.

But on Tuesday, neither Peterborough mayoral candidate – Mayor Daryl Bennett or Coun. Diane Therrien – said unequivocally where they stand on whether they’d want pot shops in Peterborough.

“It’s positive that the provincial government is consulting with municipalities,” Bennett wrote in a statement, but added that the government needs to offer far more detail on pot sales before he’d weigh in.

The decision from the Progressive Conservative government to not run bricks-and-mortar cannabis shops is a swift departure from the previous Liberal government plan to have 150 Ontario Cannabis Stores by 2020 – at least one of which was going to be in Peterborough.

Now the government says it will begin consultations on rules that private retailers much follow – such as hours of operation and guidelines for training staff.

There will also be “zero tolerance” for retailers operating in the black market on the side and stores must buy their supply from federally licensed producers.

Liberal interim leader John Fraser said this week the fact that municipalities will be able to turn away pot stores will make it a municipal election issue this fall.

But Bennett pointed out in his statement that he has lots of unanswered questions.

“Is the province going to allow it to be sold in corner stores similar to other regulated products such as tobacco and lottery tickets, or is it going to have a more limited licensing system such as the introduction of alcohol sales into a few grocery stores?” Bennett wrote.

“We need the details before we can have an informed conversation from a municipal perspective.”

Therrien said in an interview Tuesday that she hopes the government will give municipalities a chance to do “a thorough con-

sultation” with citizens.

There are good reasons to keep pot shops away from schools and parks, Therrien said. Meanwhile there will also be jobs at these pot shops, and Therrien said that needs to be considered too.

“My role as mayor would be to make sure we’re mitigating any public health concerns – but also we don’t want to say no to entrepreneurs or jobs,” she said.

Peterborough County Warden Joe Taylor said it’s too soon to tell whether the new rules will usher in rural pot shops.

But he doesn’t think so: Taylor says he thinks businesspeople will want to set up private shops in Peterborough rather than in the smaller towns of Norwood or Millbrook, for instance.

“It’s Marketing 101,” he said. But Taylor also said it remains to be seen whether anyone will start growing marijuana in Peterborough County, once cannabis is legalized.

“It’s a definite possibility,” he said, although he’s heard nothing to indicate that’s coming soon.