Mayors in York Region reject legal pot shops

Politicians voice their concerns over ‘little information’ available, possible impact on community

A number of York Region mayors have come out against proposed marijuana stores in their municipalities.

East Gwillimbury Mayor Virginia Hackson has joined regional colleagues Richmond Hill Mayor Dave Barrow and Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti in speaking out against the possibility of a marijuana dispensary coming to the municipality.

“My concern at this point is there is so little information about what it would look like. What are rules and regulations?” Hackson said.

“I don’t think we should be one of the first ones out there.”

Last month, Ontario named 14 cities to have the first LCBO-run recreational marijuana stores. The province intends to open 40 stand-alone stores by July 2018, an additional 80 by July 2019 and 150 by 2020.

Vaughan is the first to be identified in York Region where the city has created an inter-departmental cannabis working group.

Asked about the issue at a recent public meeting, Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua refused to commit the city to a legal marijuana store by July 1.

“We respect the law, but we need the resources to make sure we can facilitate the implementation of the law,” Bevilacqua said.

“We need to really look at the impact this will have on our city.

“I think the feds and the province have to come up with a plan that will also address financial downloading that occurs when such a new law is implemented.”

The town of Richmond Hill got the ball rolling at a committee meeting Dec. 4, when councillors unanimously passed a motion to advise Ontario’s attorney general and local MPPs that the municipality is “not a willing host of a cannabis retail location.”

The motion was in response to residents’ emails and delegations to council expressing concern about keeping children and the community safe.

A staff report said the province has not provided municipalities with sufficient time to identify issues and the impact on the communities — such as where cannabis may be used, how pot use in private homes will be addressed (particularly in multi-residential housing), how the odour could impact backyard enjoyment and the need for municipalities to control where stores are located to address community concerns.

“We are not interested,” Barrow said at a committee of the whole meeting last week.

Scarpitti said Markham was asked by the province if it would be willing to have a marijuana store in the city next year.

“When I was approached, they (the province) indicated Markham could be one of the first stores that opens one up and I said, ‘No.’ ”

He said there are still a lot of unanswered questions as to how retail outlets will be integrated into a community. With files from Tim Kelly, YorkRegion.com