Ottawa opts in: Says yes to pot shops

After four hours of presentations, pointed questions and a passionate plea fromrookieCoun. Carol AnneMeehanto opt out, Ottawa city council has voted to allow retail cannabis stores to open for business starting inApril 2019.

Most councillors seemed to hold their noses, and remain concerned thatthe Ontario government will likely leave cities on the hook forassociated policing, bylaw and health costs,but won't give them asay in where the shops can open.

• Municipalities that opt out of province's retail scheme can opt back in, AMO delegates told
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Municipalities only had one choice to make: toopt inor out.

"This is a bad deal," said Meehan, as she urged her colleagues to joinother big cities such as Markham and Mississauga and work together to try to negotiate more powers over pot shops.

Cities that opt out can always opt back in to cannabis stores. An opt-in, however, is irreversible.

Meehan lost that bid, with only Coun. Rick Chiarelli voting to support her.

"I personally do not think opting out is a realistic option," said Mayor Jim Watson.

After Meehan's vote failed, council unanimously agreedwith the staff recommendations, includingallowing the stores.

Businesses urge council to opt in

Ten public delegations, from a community associationto Canopy Growth from Smiths Fallsto an Alberta-based retailer,showed up forthe special council meeting Thursday.

Almost all recommended allowing the stores.

A lawyer for a firm that's representing cannabis entrepreneurs urged councillors to picture stores looking nothing like the illegal dispensaries people have seen so far.

"I'veheard more about reclaimed barn wood and beautiful interior finishings and community involvement in the last two months from these entrepreneursthan I've ever heard from any of the other small business clientswe'veworked with," said Mark Asfar of Momentum Business Law in Kanata.

Eight of the city's 19 business improvement areas have so far also signed a letter insupport of the city allowing the stores.

"To us, it just doesn't seem logical to opt out. This is a legal product now," said Christine Leadman, representing an association of the BIAs.

Leadman said the new storefronts will be tidier and the product more controlled than when illegal dispensaries existed. Police Chief Charles Bordeleau told councillors only one such illegal store remains.

Ottawa wants provincial money for cannabis

In a major report released last week, city staff, police, and public health officials all recommended allowing the shops, mostly to curb the illegal drug trade, and prevent residents turning toproducts that might be less safe to consume.

Two surveys also showed different results for whether residents wanted the shops research firm EKOS found 48 per cent supported them while an online poll found that number to be closer to 80 per cent.

• Ottawa should opt into pot shops, city staff say
• What the city report says about Ottawa's cannabis retail market

Staff also didn't want the city to leave provincial funds on the table, even if they won't be enough to offset expected costs.

Ottawa could receive up to $1 million annually from the province for hosting the retailers, whereas cities thatopt out now would get as little as $5,000 if they decide to opt in later on.

And if after two years the Ontario government earns more than$100 million from cannabis sales, the province would share the surplus with cities.

Cities lookfor more control

Most municipalities still want more say in where pot shops are located and how many can open in one community. Cities have those powers when it comes to strip clubs and payday loans.

Thursday's vote directed Watson to continue to lobby the Ontario government for more zoning powers. He said last week he had spoken with four Ontariocabinet ministers, but was not optimistic they would change the rules.

Most of the authority for cannabis licenceswent to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), the same agency that approves liquor licencesfor bars and restaurants.

Staff are not even sure the city will get a heads-up when a retailer applies to open a store in Ottawa. If staff do find an application on the AGCO website, they have 15 days to respond, and say they will alert the ward councillor and nearby community associations.

If a shop wants to set up within 150 metres of another, for instance, city staff will automatically tell the AGCO that it opposes that shop.

Sending the AGCO the city's decision on whether it was opting out is only one piece of the puzzle.

Early in 2019, Ottawa city council will review two bylawsrelated to cannabis legalization: one deals with where cannabis can begrown and processed, and the other will review its bylaw about where people can smoke.