These are the stories that created change that resonated far and wide within our community in the last four months of 2018. The issues and challenges raised will continue to have impact in the year ahead.
Since the legalization of recreational cannabis Oct. 17, 2018, and subsequent launch of the province's Ontario Cannabis Store, where anyone over the age of 19 can buy cannabis and have it delivered to the door, local residents and politicians have been grappling with question of whether or not retail pot shops should be allowed in town.
In the last month, residents attended a Town of Newmarket public meeting and provided feedback in an online survey, which closed Dec. 28.
Some councillors have said constituents are telling them they are not in favour of pot being sold in local stores. But two separate, informal polls on NewmarketToday.ca show a prevailing and opposing view.
In a Dec. 5 poll in advance of the town’s open house on cannabis shops, 58 per cent of readers said they support private retail pot stores, while 42 per cent were in opposition. After the town’s public meeting, the number of readers who supported the shops rose slightly to 67 per cent, while those in opposition declined slightly to 33 per cent.
Meanwhile, in its 2019 budget request, York Regional Police said it faces increasing financial pressure due to enforcement of the Cannabis Act. Additional funds to the tune of $11.6 million are requested to hire 53 new staff, purchase cannabis-related road safety supplies, and handle other anticipated cannabis-related activity.
Ontario’s municipalities have until Jan. 22, 2019 to make a decision about local pot shops, but in any event, the chances of such stores flooding the market anytime soon are slim. Citing production and supply shortages, the Ontario government will for the foreseeable future only issue 25 retail licences in a lottery system to be doled out to would-be shop owners in cities and towns that have opted in. The stores can open April 1, 2019.
King Township is the latest of York Region’s nine municipalities to say no to retail pot shops in their communities, joining Markham and Richmond Hill. Other jurisdictions also have yet to make a decision because of the tight timing in which to debate the issue due to the October municipal election.
The Town of Newmarket will make its decision at a Jan. 7, 2019 council meeting on the matter at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Offices council chambers, 395 Mulock Dr. The public is welcome to attend.
