Falls report calls for greater local pot control

Niagara Falls city staff recommends council send a resolution to the province requesting municipalities be given greater regulatory controls when it comes to the location, distance separations and number of retail cannabis stories within communities.

The report, scheduled to go before local politicians Tuesday evening, also recommends council harmonize its anti-smoking bylaw with amendments to Niagara Region’s anti-smoking bylaw, and work with the regional public health department on consultation regarding additional areas where tobacco, cannabis and related products can be smoked or consumed.

One thing not included in the report is a specific recommendation to either opt in or out of allowing sales of recreational cannabis in Niagara Falls. Municipalities have until Jan. 22 to decide.

After Tuesday’s session, the next council meeting is scheduled for Jan. 29, so the ball will be in council’s court Tuesday.

Municipalities that do not indicate a preference will be presumed to have opted in.

A municipality that opts out can later opt in; however, one that opts in cannot back out later.

In communities that allow it, sales become legal April 1.

Council put the issue on hold during a Dec. 11 meeting to allow staff to survey the public and gather more information. Staff said a summary of survey responses will be sent to council prior to Tuesday’s meeting. As of this past Tuesday, staff said the city received more than 350 survey responses.

“When the province removed the municipal use of regulatory controls, such as zoning to, prescribe areas, provisions and hours of operation, it severely curtailed the city’s ability to set standards which reflect the concerns and interests of local residents,” reads staff ’s report.

“Therefore, a resolution should be sent to the province asking that regulatory, licensing and operational provisions be made available to allow the creation of a land-use program reflective of local needs.”

As it stands, if a retailer applies for a licence to sell recreational cannabis, municipalities will have 15 days to offer an opinion, but cannot use zoning or licensing rules to prohibit sales.

The province has set a 150-

metre (492-foot) separation distance between school properties and a retail cannabis store.

In the past, several Niagara Falls councillors have spoken generally of being in favour of allowing sales, especially because of the tourism industry. But the lack of control has troubled them.

City staff said the viewpoint has been expressed, primarily by the City of Toronto, that delaying retail sales opportunities of cannabis will only serve to sustain the illegal market. Additionally, anyone wishing to purchase cannabis can do so through the province’s online services.

In an email sent to city staff, Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis expressed similar concerns to those included in the Niagara Falls staff report.

Davis said in addition to a lack of regulatory control, the revenue to be received by municipalities that opt in is a “fraction of that the province is going to receive. It does not even begin to cover the costs municipalities will incur arising out of the legalization of cannabis.”

“In my view the only way to change the system, so it is more responsive to and addresses the reasonable and legitimate concerns of municipalities, is to opt out now with the intent to opt in if the province listens to us and changes the system.”

He said no municipality, acting alone, would have the “leverage” to effectively lobby the provincial government to change the system.

In a letter sent to Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati, Mishka Balsom, president of Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, said by opting in municipalities can “take control” of the market and assure “this trade is legal, regulated, safe, that it creates local jobs and local profits and that it becomes an economic driver for Niagara.”

“This is not just good for business. It is socially responsible. Licences will not be issued to criminals or anyone with connections to the black market. Licensed retailers will sell a known, inspected and tested product free of contaminants. They will only sell to adults. Illegal dealers, however, have no reason to do any of these things.”

“If we choose not to participate in this market — to opt out — we will be giving other regions an opportunity to get a head start on us. If we begin now, we can create a home-grown retail industry that creates jobs here and reinvests its profits here.”