Friday, January 18, 2019 3 Brooklin Town Crier "Proud to be a Brooklinite" Founded in 2000 and published 24 times per year. Editor, Richard Bercuson 613-769-8629 • editorofbtc@gmail.com The Brooklin Town Crier is locally owned and operated and is a publication of Appletree Graphic Design Inc. We accept advertising in good faith but do not endorse advertisers nor advertisements. All editorial submissions re subject to editing. For advertising information, contact: 905.655.7642 Email: brooklintowncrier@gmail.com Next Issue: Friday, February 1, 2019 Deadline: Friday, January 25, 2019 Whitby Committee Recommends Opting Out At Whitby Council's Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday, Jan. 14, Mayor Don Mitchell spoke to the motion to opt out of having cannabis retail in Whitby. Later, the committee voted 6-3 to recommend to council on Jan. 21 to opt out. The deadline for the decision is Jan. 22. "This council is not in any way trying to turn back the clock on the legalization of cannabis," Mitchell began. "The previous council unanimously supported having a retail cannabis store in Whitby under the program presented by the Liberal government, which was in fact a very very good program. "I believe the model of running it through government stores was a much better model. They were banning it on public sidewalks and they were working with us to get a fair share of revenue which is really important because this is going to be a significant revenue source. We need another sustainable revenue. "Certainly I support the legalization of cannabis but I don't see why we'd support a regulatory regime that is significantly inferior to the one the previous government introduced. It does not offer the same protections to our young people. "We have zero control under this model. We were working with the previous government on suitable locations, on revenue funding, on government stores and instead we have this. "I really think we should opt out, step back and take a breath and see what happens elsewhere. I just don't believe this meets our community standards, particularly with smoking on public sidewalks. "When we have our open streets festivals, just think about it, where people are bringing their family members down, do you think that will help our downtown economy? "The attempt to normalize cannabis by treating it like tobacco is to me wholly misguided. Previous council said you had to treat it, at a minimum, like alcohol. At a minimum. And that's not here. "Our job is to respect our community standards... I don't see anything in this that will do anything but reduce that pride." Meanwhile, Oshawa… Oshawa city council voted 7-4 to opt into having cannabis retail in that municipality. The vote took place on Jan. 10. Municipalities have until Jan. 22 to make their decisions. According to Oshawa public report CNCL-19-01: The results of a City survey indicate strong support (62%) in favour of Oshawa having private recreational cannabis retail stores. In favour comments cited the legality of recreational cannabis retail stores, convenience, economic opportunities/job creation, crime reduction, and existing rules and regulations in place. Thirty-six percent (36%) of respondents were not in favour of having private recreational cannabis retail stores. Comments cited potential negative impacts on the city's and the downtown's image/reputation, increased access to cannabis by youth, increased addiction and crime/social issues, online availability, preference for the previous government's L.C.B.O. model, negative health impacts, loitering outside store locations, road safety and product odours. A small percentage, 2% of respondents, indicated they were unsure whether the City should have private recreational cannabis retail stores, with comments referencing a "wait and see" approach. Based on the number of respondents that partially or wholly completed the optional demographic questions: Of the 405 respondents that answered the question "how old are you", all responses were received from those aged 19-65+ with the bulk of responses (109) coming from those aged 35-44 (26.9%). Of the 271 respondents that voted "Yes", 259 indicated their age group. The age breakdown ranged from 19 to 65+, with 67% 19-44 years of age and 33% being 45+. Of the 155 respondents that voted "No", 138 indicated their age group. The age breakdown ranged from 19 to 65+, with 35% 19-44 years of age and 65% being 45+. More About The Surveys (from Whitby Staff Report LS 02-19) Telephone Survey In summary, 48% of respondents (196 people) opposed private cannabis retail stores in Whitby. This result is the total of those respondents who indicated that they either somewhat opposed or strongly opposed private cannabis retail stores. 33% of respondents (135 people) supported private cannabis retail stores. This result is the total of those respondents who indicated that they either somewhat supported or strongly supported private cannabis retail stores. A further 15% (63 people) neither opposed nor supported such stores, with 5% (19 people) unsure. Please note that the total percentages may not add exactly to 100% due to rounding. Online Survey In summary, 51% (1,135 people) opposed private cannabis retail stores in Whitby. 43% (946 people) supported private cannabis retail stores. A further 5% (108 people) neither supported nor opposed such stores, with 1% (30 people) unsure. The online survey revealed that a high percentage of respondents (95%) were aware of the impacts of cannabis legalization, however 55% of respondents had some level of concern with the way that cannabis legalization was being handled. One conclusion that can be drawn from this result is that there is a high level of public engagement with cannabis legalization, but a majority of the public remains concerned with how the federal and provincial governments are handling legalization. This is a concern shared by staff, with the changes to Ontario's cannabis sale regime under Bill 36, and the resulting uncertainty as the province attempts to regulate can- nabis sales months after legalization - well after all other provinces have achieved a coherent sales model. Opposition to stores The online survey also highlighted a number of reasons about the opposition to private cannabis retail stores. Respondents who completed this survey and who were opposed to the private cannabis retail stores had a number of options to indicate why they were opposed. Respondents were able to choose one, some, or all of the presented reasons, and were also able to submit other reasons for their opposition. The reason that was selected the most was the inability of the Town to regulate the location of private cannabis retail stores (31% or 684 people), followed closely by a lack of meaningful funding from higher levels of government (31% or 683 people). The inability of municipalities to cap the total number of cannabis retail stores (29%) or the hours of operation (24%) were also cited as reasons in opposition. Other submitted reasons for opposing cannabis retail stores included: • the private retail model is not the correct choice and the sale should be handled by the LCBO or a government-run store; • concerns about social impacts of retail sales, especially to minors, and the normalization of cannabis among youth; • the lack of municipal control over how the stores can operate; • a general negative opinion of allowing privately-run cannabis retail stores; • doubts about the effective municipal or provincial enforcement of cannabis related offences/issues; • the unknown health impacts associated with recreational cannabis usage (including second-hand smoke); • safety concerns associated with cannabis retail stores (individual safety and those of the neighbourhood or community at large); • not wanting Whitby's image as a "safe and family-oriented place to call home" to be associated with a retail "cannabis culture"; and • general opposition to cannabis legalization. In favour: Survey respondents in favour of cannabis retail stores were also able to provide comments about their support. The reasons for such support included: • general support for privately-run cannabis retail sales; • the fact that cannabis is legalized, and stores should be allowed to open to meet such legal demand in a safe and controlled environment; • the need to take an active role in how cannabis is sold in Whitby (subject to proper local controls, such as zoning and licensing); • easier access to cannabis for those with health or medical needs, and its benefits instead of opioids and other pain relievers; • additional tax revenue for the Town; • creation of new jobs in Whitby in the cannabis retail sector; • helping to push out the existing illegal "black market" sellers of cannabis in the community; and • the need for Whitby to be an innovative, economically vibrant municipality that supports the safe and legal "cannabis culture". Another group of comments were cautiously supportive of cannabis retail stores, but advocated delaying approval. These comments suggested opting out now, while watching how other municipalities handle and are impacted by retail sales. Commenters suggested that using such experience will better inform how Whitby should handle retail stores if it decides to opt in at a later date.