BRUCEDALE – Rejecting appeals to opt out, Guelph-Eramosa council has allowed itself to be included on the list of municipalities that will be open to the establishment of future retail cannabis stores.
Opting in for the stores happened automatically on Jan. 22 for any Ontario municipality that did not take the initiative to opt out.
By simply receiving a report on the issue, Guelph-Eramosa joined the municipalities of Puslinch, Wellington North and the City of Guelph as opted-in.
Erin, Centre Wellington and Mapleton have opted out, and Minto was to decide on Jan. 22.
Meeting as the strategic planning committee on Jan. 16, council heard appeals from four delegations who urged the township to opt out.
Councillor Mark Bouwmeester proposed an amendment to have the township opt out for now and reconsider the situation after one year.
“It is somewhat surreal that we actually have a choice, since the legalization is nowhere near our realm,” he said, noting the amount of future revenue to be gained by allowing stores is unknown.
“If we hit pause, it gives us time to look at county-wide bylaws and time to strategize. Feedback will help us make a more informed decision later on.
“We should err on the side of caution and not allow ourselves to be used as a guinea pig – that’s the responsible way.”
With only vocal opponents of cannabis sales observing in the gallery, no councillor offered to second Bouwmeester’s amendment. As a result, it was not debated or voted upon.
Mayor Chris White said outside the meeting that council had previously had a “healthy discussion” on this issue.
Bouwmeester was the only member opposed to the motion to simply receive the clerk’s report.
Since members were meeting as a committee, the action did not take effect until endorsed at council’s regular meeting on Jan. 21.
Ontario plans to allow just 25 cannabis stores to open in April, and only in municipalities with populations over 50,000, but those restrictions are expected to eventually change.
Local resident Lorna Hawkins reminded council that cannabis can cause serious harm.
“The government is in need of more money. They saw the opportunity to exploit our youth by allowing them to buy and grow weed in their homes – shame on Trudeau and his cabinet,” Hawkins said.
“It sickens me as a senior watching our country fall apart. Organized crime will flourish, because the welcome mat is at our front door. Our government tossed us under the bus.”
After the meeting, she said the situation is a “mess” and she feels sorry for the mayor and councillors for having to make a decision on stores.
Dr. Nicola Mercer, Medical Officer of Health for Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, acknowledged legally-grown cannabis is safer than illegally-grown, but she still urged council to opt out.
She noted a survey of residents found many are uninformed about the hazards of cannabis use, with one in five users driving within two hours of cannabis intake.
She said among those who have used cannabis in the last 12 months, 25 per cent have done so daily.
“It is big business,” said Mercer. “They need to generate more users to generate more profits, and increase the amount being used by current users. Both models [tobacco and cannabis] prey on the young, and those that are prone to addiction.”
Wellington OPP Inspector Scott Lawson told council “collaboration is the only way we will deal with this new reality,” noting the OPP does not have the resources to enforce potential municipal bylaws on cannabis.
He said Wellington OPP is well prepared to deal with drug-impaired driving, even though they are holding off on the purchase of detection equipment while the technology is improving.
Lawson said police have charged three people with drug-impaired driving in the last three months, and issued 34 tickets, related mainly to under-age issues or possession in a vehicle.
Another concern is people can use legal cannabis to make more highly-concentrated illegal products, he said.
Silvana Sangiuliano of Belwood urged council not to swayed by the possibility of cannabis revenue, since it cannot be used for infrastructure and could be cancelled by the provincial government.
She said having cannabis available in stores “will not snuff out the black market or protect our youth”.
Sangiuliano presented a petition with the names of 500 people from across the county who are opposed to cannabis retailing.
She said almost half are from Guelph-Eramosa.
After the meeting, Sangiuliano said, “I think the facts are being ignored.”
