Brad Wall disagrees with mayors that pot tax revenue should go to cities

Legal pot in Saskatchewan is still a year away, but already there's disagreement between cities and the province on how the potential tax revenue should be divvied up.

While the mayors of Regina and Saskatoon say at least a portion of the tax revenue is needed to deal with additional policing costs, Premier Brad Wall says the revenues should be spent on education and preventing drug impaired driving.

"There is a cost to all of this that comes to governments and that's what the revenue should pay for. I don't think it should be going to mayors," Wall said on CBC Radio's The Morning Edition.

Saskatoon MayorCharlie Clark said police will likely have to spend more money thanever on things like impaired driving technologies and enforcement of new laws.

Regina Mayor Michael Fougere agreed, saying while it's still unclear how legal pot will be sold in Saskatchewan, there will be additional costs. He said "revenue that is generated from the sale of marijuana should go to those orders of governmentmunicipalities that deal with implementation and enforcement of the new laws."

Wall wary on over-taxing pot

In a written statement, the provincial government said it's still too early to say when provincial legislation will be in place. The government has created a working group that will eventually help draft legislation.

The government statement also said officials are working to "identify areas of concern" with the timelines the federal government has set forward.

Wall said his government will need to be careful when deciding how to tax pot. He said the cost of legal pot needs to be competitive with the black market.

"This better not be about money. It really shouldn't be. The premiers and the federal government have said if the point of this is to remove organized crime from the scenario, we better be careful what governments do on the tax side to price," Wall said.

A report by theC.D.Howe Institute released this spring found that marijuanashould not be be taxed beyond the current tax rates in Saskatchewan if the black market is to be kept in check.

Premiers want to delay pot legalization

Premiers announced this week in Edmonton they will ask the federal government to postpone its plan to legalize marijuana ifissues related to road safety, taxation, training for distributors and public education aren't addressed.

Premiers also have outstanding concerns about supply anddemand, and addressing theblack market for cannabis.

Just minutes after the premiers released a document detailing the potential request for an extension, Prime Minister Justin Trudeausaid his government intends to stick to its timeframe.

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