Leamington's municipal council voted to be the first in Windsor-Essex to allow retail cannabis stores, even though the town will not qualify for it in 2019.
Last Thursday, the Ford government pumped the brakes on opening up retail cannabis stores on April 1 by limiting the number of licenses to just 25 across Ontario. Only cities and towns with a population of more than 50,000 will qualify for stores in the initial phase, and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario will implement a lottery system to determine which cities will be allowed to open the stores this spring.
A photo of Leamington Deputy Mayor Hilda MacDonald. (Courtesy of Hilda MacDonald on Facebook.)
That does not bother Mayor Hilda McDonald who said it would give Leamington more time to adjust, and do it right when it does qualify.
"We had a presentation from some investors who are looking to be on the ground floor in retail, and we would like to be first in line," she said. "Those people definitely have the funds, capability, and the knowledge to pursue this. We don't want to the low-level, and we think that if we wait that is the kind of investor that we will have."
She said she personally knows of two investors interested in opening shop in Leamington.
Last week, town councils in Lakeshore and Tecumseh decided to opt out of the process citing concerns about the lack of control their municipalities will have over the location and number of pot shops.
Tecumseh Mayor Gary McNamara also said funding to adjust to retail marijuana is not enough to pay for increased policing costs and enforcement.
Instead, both town councils asked their staff to back with a report at a later date describing how other municipalities have handled the retail side of legalized marijuana.
In Kingsville, Deputy Mayor Gord Queen has filed a notice of motion calling on his community also to opt out.
McDonald admits some on council share those concerns but believes the Ontario government will work out those complications before licenses are opened up to smaller communities.
"We are hoping the government will change some aspects of that concern," she said, noting the Ford government has already dramatically changed its plans. "There are some basic restrictions we think the province will bring in some other guidelines."
For McDonald, the decision was economic.
"We certainly are hearing from the people who have issues with the morality of it all, but we are not here to make moral decisions," she said. "We lost Heinz several years ago. We're fortunate that we do have a greenhouse industry that did carry us through those times. We have an opportunity here that will bring younger people into the community to work, and hopefully live."
Cities and towns have until January 22 to decide whether they will opt in or not. Once they agree to allow retail cannabis stores, they will not be allowed to opt out.