Sign up for the meadowlakeNOW newsletter

M.L. council to discuss pot decision in coming weeks

Jan 8, 2018 | 3:37 PM

Now that the provincial government has unrolled its plan for the regulation and sale of cannabis, communities around Saskatchewan will have some decisions to make, including the City of Meadow Lake.

This morning, the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) rolled out its plan, stating it will initially issue approximately 60 cannabis retail permits in up to 40 eligible municipalities and First Nation communities.

Meadow Lake Mayor Gary Vidal said while he and council knew the strategy was coming, it is not a topic they have discussed extensively to date as they were awaiting the provincial government’s regulations to be put in place.

“We’ve had very little conversation or discussion about it because we didn’t really know what the playing field was going to be, we didn’t know how it was going to look,” he said. “I suspect what will happen is that we will have to review this information, understand what it means to our community, and will probably have our administration analyze it, do a report for council and go from there.” 

Vidal said he just received documentation this morning from the provincial government, and in his brief initial scan of the document, understood that Meadow Lake will be approved for one retail outlet.

Municipalities do have the option to opt out of cannabis sales if they choose, which means they would have to submit a resolution or bylaw prohibiting the sales to the government by Feb. 28.

“The time frames on this are obviously tight and we’ll have to respond accordingly,” he said. “We’ll have to consider this and decide how we as a council direct our little city to address this. If that’s not the choice, we’ll have to get the impact on our zoning bylaws in place I’m assuming by the July 1 deadline. It’s something we’ll have to address in one of our agendas in the not too distant future.”

SLGA also announced cannabis retailers must operate a standalone business with a storefront and will only be permitted to sell cannabis, cannabis accessories and ancillary items.

The province added it will assess the effectiveness of the initial allocations and could allocate additional opportunities approximately 12 to 18 months after legalization.

SLGA said specific details regarding application criteria, permit licensing fees, application timelines and other associated details will be finalized over the coming weeks.

 

kathy.gallant@jpbg.ca  

On Twitter @ReporterKath