Mississauga Cannabis Stores May Still Open
Despite twice voting against Mississauga cannabis stores, its city council still has a window of opportunity. Canada’s sixth-largest city is also the largest to have no legal cannabis outlets within city limits. The reason seems to be that of control: the city wants more say in where in Mississauga cannabis stores can open. Under provincial rules, once a municipality chooses to allow cannabis stores, they have no control over where those stores go.
Many Mississauga councillors are not happy about that, perhaps for good reason.
“That’s one of the reasons I was (against approving cannabis shops earlier this year), the lack of municipal control,” said Ward 7 Councillor Dipika Damerla. “For most of us, I think, that was the reason we didn’t approve cannabis shops in Mississauga.”
But a private member’s bill introduced by an NDP MPP has passed first reading. Bill 13, the Supporting People and Businesses Act, would give municipalities more control over cannabis shops including locations.
“So, if we could (have staff) do the research and make our motion request that (the Province) moves it into Bill 13 and pass it, I think that would be even stronger,” Damerla said.
Mississauga Cannabis Stores Vital to Fighting the Illegal Market – LPC
Mississauga is not the only city in the GTA to ban cannabis stores, according to the InSauga article. (Please see link below.) Oakville, Markham, Whitby and Vaughan have also so far denied them too. It’s unclear if the reasons are the same, though control would certainly be an issue. There’s no reason why municipalities should not have more say over cannabis store locations.
That could be an important barrier to disrupting the illegal cannabis market. In September 2020, the legal cannabis market in Canada outpaced the illegal market. But there is still room for improvement as many experts call for the Canadian cannabis industry to be fixed. Some within Ontario are saying the same thing with the retail market, that the province is “killing” cannabis retail.
In that light, Mississauga cannabis stores could become the battlefront for what is needed in cannabis reform in Ontario. Perhaps holding out as they have done so far will improve cannabis retail for all Ontarians.
Read the Full Story at InSauga.com
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