A report from the province of Ontario concerning soon-to-be-legal marijuana has one Windsor councillor fuming.
Earlier this month, the province laid out its plan to help municipalities deal with the transition to legal pot use when it begins across Canada this summer. It calls for $40-million of revenue from the federal excise duty tax, payable over two years, to help towns and cities deal with the implementation costs.
The money will be distributed using a ratio determined by the number of households in a municipality, with the smallest towns in Ontario guaranteed at least $10,000. But Ward 6 councillor Jo-Anne Gignac said what the province is setting aside isn't enough with Windsor's unique status as a border town.
"It's not fair," Gignac said following Monday night's city council meeting. "It's not fair and it's not reasonable that municipal taxpayers should carry the burden of additional costs, whether it be for policing, enforcement or bylaw enforcement."
Municipalities should be made whole, according to Gignac, and not be subjected to a ratio as laid out by the provincial government.
"[I'm] very frustrated," said Gignac. "It certainly wasn't a legislated piece of work that we had a lot of input in, and even in regard to where the initial test stores will be located."
Gignac already expressed concern about where a new marijuana retail facility should be built in the city. She also pointed out that the city went through similar concerns when more American tourists came to Windsor when gambling was legalised in the 1990s.
The $40-million that the province is putting aside will go toward increasing law enforcement's capability to issue sobriety tests, creating a legal team to prosecute people caught driving while high, and setting up intelligence to shut down illegal pot retailers.
Gignac understands, however, that the process is an ongoing one, and Mayor Drew Dilkens has addressed the implementation costs.
"The mayor has been actively pursuing the full cost recovery, but I think we have to take every opportunity we can, to help push that forward," said Gignac.