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Pot taxes should come to municipalities: Bater

Both North Battleford and Battleford have big decisions to make soon on retailing cannabis in the community.
marijuana

Both North Battleford and Battleford have big decisions to make soon on retailing cannabis in the community.

Monday night, North Battleford city council received correspondence from the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Commission on the retailing and wholesaling of cannabis.

The correspondence stated that the city is eligible for two cannabis retail outlets, based on population. The town of Battleford is eligible for one cannabis retail outlet.

However, eligible communities do have the choice to opt out of the initial allocation of retail permits if they choose. Community leaders, including those on First Nations, have until Feb. 28 to pass a resolution to opt out, and send a letter to SLGA to that effect.

Saskatchewan is the last province in the country to come up with a framework for licensing retail cannabis in advance of the federal government’s legalization of marijuana coming this summer.

The province plans to initially issue 60 retail permits in up to 40 eligible communities with populations of 2,500 or more. All of them would be private-retailing permits.

For now, Mayor Ryan Bater of North Battleford suggested the cannabis retailing issue be included on the agenda at the next council meeting Jan. 22. The most pressing decision council will face at that time is whether to opt out of the initial allocation of retail permits. There are other issues as well, including zoning, which will need to be addressed, but that does not have to be decided immediately.

City manager Jim Puffalt welcomed the move to put the issue on the council agenda at the next meeting, so that public reaction can be gauged on the issue.

Puffalt welcomed the “opportunity for public consultation, now that we know that we have a choice to make.”

Bater indicated at council that there are still unanswered questions on the entire issue.

One of them, Bater said at council, is “how much of the taxation revenue is going to be shared with municipalities to address the increased costs of policing these new laws.”

Bater later told reporters there are also traffic laws and home-production laws that would need to be enforced.

“This will require additional resources for policing and that’s going to cost money, and so it’s appropriate, we feel, that the tax revenue collected from the sale of this activity be remitted to municipalities to help with that policing cost.”

Bater said he expects a decision at the next meeting on whether the city will opt out from the initial allocation. Should council give the green light to cannabis retailing within city limits, Bater indicated that zoning amendments would be the next step, to allow cannabis retailing “either as a discretionary use or as permitted within whatever zone in the city council sees appropriate.”

The indication from Bater is he wants to see all the bylaw amendments and other issues addressed well in time for July when legalization is scheduled to take effect.

“We’d like to be done well in advance. If we choose to proceed with allowing cannabis retailing, if there are entrepreneurs in our city who want to be part of that business, I think we want to make them as prepared as they possibly can be.”

South of the river, town council in Battleford also will have some decisions to make on the issue. The town also has the option to “opt out” of the initial allocation of cannabis retail outlets.

Battleford mayor Ames Leslie said he is excited the provincial government has released an initial plan, but said “I’m a little disappointed that the provincial government has basically put the onus on municipalities to control and manage completely within their own communities, especially when they complained that the federal government did the same thing to them.”

Leslie said council has discussed the perception of cannabis in the community, and said consultation with residents about whether or not to opt out of having a retail outlet is upcoming.

Leslie said selling cannabis could be a business opportunity, while “at the same time there is that stigma of cannabis being that illegal, bad, thing to do.

“So council’s got some discussions to have with residents and make a decision.”