Cannabis shop opens in Crystal Beach
During second lockdown, Beamsville restaurant decided to turn its dining room into a gourmet market
Conrad Floyd considers himself an unofficial resident of Niagara, particularly Crystal Beach.
“I’ve been coming here every summer since I was a little kid,” said the Hamilton-based cannabis entrepreneur.
Since he has such fond memories of his time spent along the shores of Lake Erie, Floyd decided to open a cannabis shop in Crystal Beach.
“Why not have my business where I love to hang out?”
Village Cannabis opened Jan. 29 on Ridgeway Road, the first cannabis shop to open in Crystal Beach.
“We offer a non-corporate feel, a fun feel … after all, cannabis should be fun so that’s what we’re all about,” Floyd said.
He has plans to launch five additional Village Cannabis outlets, including one slated to open in Port Dover in March.
“We are primarily focusing on beachy communities,” he said. “That’s our whole vibe.”
With his retail operations in full swing, Floyd said he had to put his plan to convert a former derelict hotel in Niagara Falls into a “cannabis-friendly” hotel on hold.
The Pink Elephant Inn was to be a 37-room complex on Lundy’s Lane, with marijuana provided as part of the room rental.
He had hoped to host cannabis markets on site, as well as car shows and food truck events.
However, the project went up in smoke in April 2020 after a fire destroyed the building.
“Financially, I can’t hang on to it,” Floyd said. “If someone came around and invested, then I’d still love to finish it but if not, I have to sell it.”
Recreational cannabis was legalized by the federal government in 2018.
The province introduced a number of private retail stores the following year that are overseen by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
There are now a number of shops across the region, including Choom and Canna Cabana in Niagara Falls and Niagara Herbalist and Corner Cannabis in St. Catharines.
There are currently multiple applications before the AGCO for additional dispensaries, including three in Fort Erie and more than a dozen in Niagara Falls.
“It’s difficult to foresee how this will all go since it will depend on numbers and public health protocols. And, with these new variants, who knows?” RINA RODE
NIAGARA REGION
HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION CONVENER
For high school athletes — in track and field, especially — the disappointing news was déjà vu all over again, and dishearteningly so.
Monday’s decision by the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) to cancel all championships and festivals means the most-elusive medals in high school sports — for track and field — won’t be awarded for the second time in as many years.
Also impacted in a cancellation that will last at least until the 2020-21 academic year in June are badminton, baseball, field lacrosse, rugby, soccer, softball, tennis and ultimate Frisbee.
COVID-19 and ongoing efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic was cited in the decision by the governing body of high school sports in the province.
“OFSAA supports the health and safety measures currently instituted by public health and the government of Ontario,” the association’s president, Nick Rowe, said in a statement. “Despite this disappointing news, we wish to reiterate our continued support for sports and activity for the benefit of students’ physical and mental well-being.
“School sports play a vital role in education and in the lives of students.”
While the “coming months present uncertainty,” Rowe expressed hope students can begin competing for provincial championships as vaccines become more widely distributed.
“We early look forward to the time when athletes and coaches can safety return to competition in our provincial championships and festivals,” he said in the statement.
OFSAA had previously cancelled championships for fall sports, including boys volleyball, football and girls volleyball, as well as provincials for such winter sports as boys basketball, curling, girls volleyball, hockey, swimming and wrestling.
Rina Rode, the convener of the Niagara Region High School Athletic Association (NRHSAA), wasn’t shocked by the latest cancellation nor was Chris Mclean, convener of the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association.
“The decision isn’t really a surprise considering the fact that, other than some pro sports, nothing is running,” Rode said. “Obviously, everyone is disappointed.
“However, it seems a stretch that things would return to ‘normal’ in time for spring.”
Given that Ontario is just beginning to emerge from a second provincewide lockdown, the decision by OFSAA’S executive council didn’t catch Mclean off-guard.
“Based on the current situation in Ontario, this was not a surprise,” he said.
This latest headline in almost a year of bad news for high school sports in Ontario doesn’t shut the door completely on some types of activities taking place. Pending approval from public health authorities, some sports could still be played.
“Regional associations and, indeed, school boards can work together with their respective boards of health to make decisions with regards to running or not running activities,” Rode said. “These may be at the school level — working on skills and drills — or even among schools within a board.”
She cautioned that, to what extent, if any, this will happen is anybody’s guess at this point.
“It’s difficult to foresee how this will all go since it will depend on numbers and public health protocols,” Rode said. “And, with these new variants, who knows?”
Mclean said OFSAA encourages associations to run interschool sports, as well as intramurals and skill development.
“The feasibility of these activities will have to be assessed by the school board in consultation with public health,” he said.
Medals in high school track and field are considered the most difficult to win as qualifying for individual and team events is open to all studentathletes in the province.
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When it comes to sports, high school athletes aren’t the only ones who have been sidelined by the pandemic.
Both U Sports, the national governing body for university sports, and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association, the umbrella organization for community colleges, cancelled all games after the first lockdown in mid-march.
The Ontario Hockey League and the Greater Ontario Hockey Junior Hockey League, which has six junior B teams in Niagara region and one in Haldimand-norfolk, likewise have yet to return to the ice.
Others continuing to play a waiting game since last March are the Dunnville Mudcats, Grimsby Peach Kings and Niagara Riverhawks of the junior C Provincial Junior Hockey League.
Both the junior A and junior B lacrosse seasons were wiped out last summer with the Canadian Minto Cup indoor championships slated for Meridian Centre in St. Catharines cancelled.
There also was no Intercounty Baseball League action in 2020, nor was there stock car racing at Ohsweken Speedway, southeast of Brantford, or motorcycle racing at Welland County Speedway in Welland.