Kingsville, Essex opt in on cannabis retail stores
Want to sell cannabis from a storefront? The towns of Kingsville and Essex are the latest municipalities in the Essex County region to say they ’re ready for that kind of business — opting in for provincial licences for cannabis retail. At meetings on Monday night, both town councils voted unanimously in favour of opting in: 6-0 in Kingsville and 7-0 in Essex. “It’s pretty simple. Cannabis is a legal product — just as legal as access to tobacco and alcohol,” Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos said on Tuesday.
“Within our municipality, we’re seeing great strides in the economy around that sector,” he said. “Personally, I think it’s an advancement to accept another type of diversification in our economy, even if it’s just one or two storefronts years down the road from now.” With Monday’s decisions, the number of Essex County municipalities that have opted in for cannabis retail licences has risen to three: Leamington, Kingsville and Essex.
Tecumseh, Lakeshore and LaSalle have voted to opt out. The City of Windsor hasn’t decided yet. The issue is expected to be discussed and voted upon by city council on Jan. 21.
The province’s deadline to opt out is Jan. 22.
Ontario’s first 25 licences for privately owned cannabis retail stores with physical locations go into effect at the start of April. Despite being the last to decide locally, Windsor is the only community in the region with a population large enough to qualify for that first round of licences from the Ontario government. Municipalities with less than 50,000 people — such as Kingsville and Essex — don’t qualify, for now. Santos said Kingsville’s town council was made aware of the “ever-changing landscape of the regulations around cannabis,” and decided that opting in was still important.
For example, municipalities who opt in stand to receive thousands of dollars in additional government funding: A greater share of the $40 million that Ontario is providing over two years for municipalities in relation to cannabis retail, and a portion of the federal excise duty on cannabis. “(Opting in) will help us in our long-term planning for the ongoing evolution of this issue,” Santos said.
While it could be years before the legislation provides cannabis retail licenses to communities the size of Kingsville, Santos said his municipality has done its due diligence in terms of public consultation and will be ready for such business. But what if the City of Windsor — representing the largest municipality in the Essex County region — decides to opt out? Santos is hopeful it doesn’t come to that. “The new economy is coming our way, and having opportunity commercially is a positive for any community, large or small.” “Recognizing that it’s highly regulated and licensed, the decision is almost made for you. There’s a big process still ahead, and I think municipalities have to be responsive.”