City must have a say in location of new cannabis stores

Premier Doug Ford’s small government, pro-business approach to marijuana retailing might simplify the market but it introduces a major complication for municipal politicians.

Come January, Peterborough’s new city council is going to have to decide if marijuana shops will be allowed here.

Under the rules proposed by the previous Liberal government, that should have been a simple decision.

Marijuana would have been sold here through an LCBO-controlled store under rules similar to the way alcohol sales are handled. Peterborough would have had one store initially and city council would have had a say in where it could go.

The province likely would have picked an acceptable site. If that didn’t happen, council could have refused to zone the property for marijuana sales.

The other option under the Liberal plan was to pull Peterborough out of marijuana retailing. Any municipal council had the right to ban pot sales within its borders.

That would have been a bad idea.

Marijuana is widely available now and has been for years. Legal sales will make it harder for teenagers to get the drug, not easier, and shift most of the estimated $1 billion in annual revenue away from gangs and illegal growers.

But city politicians will get pressure not to allow pot stores here. Despite the fact that prohibition hasn’t kept marijuana out of the hands of Canadians, just as it didn’t stop them from getting illegal alcohol in the 1920s, there will be campaigns to preserve the status quo.

The right to decide where stores could locate gave politicians an answer to one of the most fundamental concerns people have with pot sales, that teenagers will have easier access.

Now the Ford government has taken that power away. Municipalities will not be allowed to set zoning regulations for pot stores the way they do for every other retail business.

There will be no restrictions on how many stores can open and locations will be approved by a provincial agency, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

Cities like Peterborough will have to trust that the AGCO makes good decisions.

It likely will.

But “likely” is not a guarantee, and city councillors won’t have an easy time convincing worried parents that an appointed commission sitting in Toronto will have the same regard for community interests as locally elected councillors do.

Premier Ford is right to let private businesses operate marijuana stores, with regulations to keep pot out of the hands of minors and set hours of operation.

That will lead to a more consumer-friendly and efficient system than Ontario’s rigid LCBO-controlled alcohol sales, a monopoly that discriminates against small producers, regulates prices and can make buying a specialty bottle of wine a challenge.

But regulations need to be set and enforced by public bodies. And regulation of where businesses can set up shop should remain the responsibility of municipal councils.

Premier Ford’s decision to strip that responsibility away is no doubt grounded in his experience on Toronto city council. He had no patience for debate and public consultation and as a result he and his brother, former Mayor Rob Ford, got very little accomplished.

Contentious zoning issues like a pot store location can be particularly long and messy to sort out. But the system does work, and Premier Ford should let municipal councils do their job.