Burlington Council to Hold Special Meeting March 9 to Respond to Province on Proposed Cannabis Expansions

During last night's Council meeting, I brought forward a Mayor's Office report for a resolution in response to the Ontario government's recent announcement of exploring the expansion of locations for the sale and consumption of cannabis.On Feb. 10, the Province opened up a public consultation to get feedback on potentially expanding cannabis business opportunities, such as lounges, and the potential extension of Special Occasion Permits (SOPs) to allow cannabis to be served and consumed at festivals and events in public places and spaces. The Province set the deadline for feedback to March 10.Having to move quickly, the City of Burlington put out an online survey asking residents to share their thoughts about whether cafes and lounges serving and allowing the consumption of cannabis should be allowed to operate in the city; in addition to thoughts on the sale and consumption of cannabis and cannabis products at public festivals and events.The deadline for our survey was set to Feb. 23, the day before our Council meeting last night, to help direct our conversation on what the City's position should to the Province before its March 10 consultation deadline.The full survey results are available here: MO-02-20 Appendix A -City of Burlington Public Survey Results - Province Proposed Cannabis Expansions - Feb 23 2020.A quick summary:

• A total of 969 surveys were completed;
• 50% were in favour of allowing the sale and consumption of cannabis in places like cannabis lounges and cafés (5% undecided, 45% not in favour);
• 57% were NOT in favour of allowing the sale and consumption of cannabis at festivals and events such as music or food festivals, etc. (3% undecided, 40% in favour);
• 67% felt that municipalities should be able to decide/govern the sale and consumption of cannabis in cafés and lounges (11% undecided, 23% not in favour); and
• 72% felt that municipalities should be able to decide/govern the sale and consumption of cannabis at special events (7% undecided, 21% not in favour).

Taking in these preliminary results, I put together a resolution (MO-02-20 City of Burlington Position on Expanded Cannabis Sale and Consumption) that the City's position should be:

• The Council of the City of Burlington is open to the sale and consumption of edible cannabis products in additional locations such as cannabis lounges so long as these locations do not also permit the sale and consumption of alcohol nor conflict with our existing distance criteria for retail cannabis store locations;
• The City of Burlington does not support the sale or consumption of any cannabis products in public spaces or at public events such as outdoor festivals and concerts;
• We ask the government of Ontario to allow municipalities to make their own local decisions on these matters and permissions; and
• We ask the government of Ontario to ensure that no additional permissions on the use of cannabis would be granted in such a manner as to contravene the Smoke-Free Ontario Act of 2017 or any Halton Region bylaws that exist at the time of their decision.

Appreciating that Council members only received the survey results the day before the Council meeting and may not have had a chance to go through them in detail — and perhaps wanted to engage with their constituents a bit more on this topic — I also suggested we could hold a Special Meeting of Council March 9 to decide on the City's position and send it before the Province's consultation deadline.As chair of Council, I am unable to bring forward an amendment to my own motion and report, but thankfully (after hearing from my Council colleagues they would prefer more time) Ward 3 Coun. Rory Nisan and Ward 2 Coun. Lisa Kearns put forward a motion to defer this item to a Special Council Meeting on March 9 — that motion was unanimously carried.I also encourage all residents to reach out to the ward Councillor (and to me at mayor@burlington.ca) and share their feedback and thoughts on this to help us make an informed decision on the City's position that is truly reflective of our citizens. Contact information for every member of Council is available by clicking the link.— Mayor Marianne Meed WardMY TAKE:

This is an opportunity for the City of Burlington to help shape what the Province will do. We need to send our feedback by their deadline. We can certainly put caveats around what we want to say, such as “until such time as municipalities control this..., we do not support..., etc.” As rushed as this may feel, we’re not in charge of this process — the Province is, they set this consultation deadline. If we feel we should stand down entirely, we need to say that, too. I think giving ourselves more time to think it through this all is fine. During last night's meeting, I asked every member of Council to then use the next two weeks to find ways to engage with their constituents so we can be prepared to make a decision on March 9. Not saying anything or saying we need more time, is not a response. These next two weeks give us additional time to speak with our staff as well and to also get some clarification on the financial piece attached with this. It’s the edible world that is a game-changer with the cannabis industry. It’s also important to keep reminding ourselves that we didn’t legalize cannabis — we’re in reaction mode with all this.

RELATED LINKS:

• MO-02-20 City of Burlington Position on Expanded Cannabis Sale and Consumption
• MO-02-20 Appendix A -City of Burlington Public Survey Results - Province Proposed Cannabis Expansions - Feb 23 2020
• MO-02-20 Appendix B -Smoke-Free Ontario Act
• Give City Your Feedback on Future of Cannabis Lounges and at Events in Burlington
• Province Authorizes Retail Store The Hunny Pot Cannabis Co. to Operate in Burlington, AGCO Pre-Opening Inspection to Follow

--*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor's Media and Digital Communications Specialist.