Mayors wonder what legal pot will cost municipalities
Prescott-Russell mayors wonder how the legalization of marijuana next summer will affect policing costs and property values for their communities.
“We are the ones who are going to be very much affected,” said Hawkesbury Mayor Jeanne Charlebois during the January 24 session of the United Counties of PrescottRussell council (UCPR).
A letter from Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa to all local governments prompted Mayor Charlebois’ comment. Sousa noted that the provincial government will be ready when the federal legalization of marijuana takes effect in July, with a “safe and sensible framework to govern the lawful use and retail distribution of cannabis as a carefully controlled substance within the province.”
The provincial plan is to handle legal sales of marijuana like legal sales of alcohol, through government-approved cannabis retail stores. Sousa noted the province will insist that Ontario get a share of any federal excise tax on legalized marijuana sales.
Earlier this month, Champlain Township council discussed the impact of legalized marijuana on municipal policing costs. Township council approved a resolution to demand that the provincial and federal governments set up a marijuana sales taxsharing program similar to the gas tax-sharing program.
“I believe our policing costs will go up,” said Champlain Mayor Gary Barton during the UCPR council session. “I believe we need to do our homework on how we can get our share of the pie.”
The marijuana tax-sharing program would ensure that municipalities in which cannabis retail stores are set up receive a portion of the sales tax. This would help cover increased policing or other costs resulting from the legal marijuana.
Public and private toking rights
“There are a lot of other issues involved,” said UCPR Warden and Nation Municipality Mayor François St-Amour.
Warden St-Amour also noted that marijuana smokers could demand the same kind of privileges as tobacco smokers have, such as designated public places where they can light up.
Mayor Charlebois said the UCPR should press the Association of Municipalities of Ontario for answers. How will marijuana legalization impact municipalities, she asked? What kind of compensation or help will the provincial and federal governments provide?
“If the (senior) governments won’t give us answers, the AMO should,” she said.
The right to smoke marijuana in public or in private is already getting legal attention. National media report that the administration boards for some private condominium groups are looking at forbidding tenants from smoking marijuana or growing it for personal use, even in the privacy of their own condo units.
Some legal experts have stated these bans may hold up in court if the condo board creates a specific rule on the issue and circulates it among existing tenant/ owners without receiving any opposition. If one tenant objects to the new rule but a majority of condo owners vote for it, then it would become law within the bounds of the condominium premises.
A modified rule could also restrict marijuana smoking to balcony areas of a condo owner’s home or set other limitations to deal with second-hand smoke concerns. New tenants coming into the condo group after the rule was approved would have to obey or suffer penalties for infractions.
Legal consultants noted that a condo board planning a marijuana control rule must consider exceptions for tenants who need to smoke marijuana for valid medical reasons, such as pain relief or treatment of glaucoma.