Most Manitoba municipalities plan to allow cannabis sales
By Friday deadline, 84 municipalities told the province they plan to allow retail pot; 41 said no or abstained
Most Manitoba mayors, reeves and councillors tell CBC they plan to allow retail pot sales in their communities and notified the province of that intention in a survey Friday.
At the end of November, the Progressive Conservative government gave municipalities until noon on Dec. 22 to say either "yes" or "no" to the pot question through a survey sent by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities on behalf of the provincial government.
CBC News contacted leaders from 137 municipalities leading up to the Friday deadline — and found about 60 per cent plan to allow retail pot in their communities.
In total, 84 municipalities told CBC they informed the province they plan to allow marijuana sales, while 13 said no, 28 abstained and 12 did not respond to or declined CBC's request for information.
"The survey on cannabis legalization is entirely voluntary, in the spirit of 'fair say,' to gather information for immediate-term planning purposes," said a statement from a spokesperson for the provincial government.
"We will continue to have open and ongoing dialogue with municipalities on the subject as we work to establish a competitive retail environment that creates economic opportunities at the local level."
Winnipeg, Brandon say 'yes' to pot sales
Among the municipalities that said they would allow pot sales were larger urban centres, including Winnipeg, Brandon, Dauphin, Minnedosa, Portage la Prairie, Selkirk, Swan River and Thompson.
Beausejour, Gimli and the Town of Lac du Bonnet were among the 12 municipalities that said no. Churchill, Winkler, Virden, Morris and East St. Paul said they weren't giving an answer either way.
"It's not a yes and it's not a no, either," Rural Municipality of Hanover Reeve Stan Toews said about his council's decision to stay neutral.
"We're going to check our zoning bylaws, see how that would all fit in, and we're waiting on more information because we don't have enough information to say 'yes' or say 'no.'"
A lack of information and the short time they were given to make the decision were common reasons municipal officials gave for not responding.
We're waiting on more information because we don't have enough information to say yes or say no- Hanover Reeve Stan Toews
Toews said his council would need to know how much money their municipality could expect for things like policing and the expected social costs of allowing the legal sale of pot in the community before making a decision, information that isn't yet available.
Manitoba is the only province not to sign to a federal-provincial agreement to share the tax revenue from legalized cannabis.
The provinces and territories that did sign the agreement will get 75 per cent of marijuana taxes, up from the initial offer of a 50/50 split.
"It's important because if the municipalities are going to be dealing with this stuff, they're going to need some money to recoup their costs," Toews said.
'It's still going to be in your community'
Portage la Prairie opted to give the nod to pot sales in the city, a decision that was made easier because council knew the answer wouldn't be set in stone either way, Mayor Irvine Ferris said.
"We thought that it would be better to be involved so businesses in Portage don't miss out," said Ferris, who acknowledges both he and councillors have the same questions as Toews about how revenue will be shared with municipalities.
"Portage has said yes at this point, but there's a number of opt-out clauses along the way … so we thought, given the time frames and everything, we could certainly look at the decision again given any new information we get."
The province laid out its plan for the legalization of pot in early November. Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries will secure the supply of marijuana and track it in Manitoba, but private retail stores will be in charge of selling it.
Retailers interested in selling marijuana also had until Friday to submit their applications to the province.
The province will allow private retailers to sell online and Premier Brian Pallister has said marijuana should be accessible within a 30-minute drive for about 90 per cent of the population.
Ferris said the fact pot users will be able to buy the drug online regardless of a municipality's decision also pushed the city toward saying yes.
"It's still going to be in your community," he said.
Just say no
The mayor and council of the Town of Lac du Bonnet decided to say no to marijuana sales in their community.
Mayor Gordon Peters said he knows there's already pot in town, and he doesn't want it made even more accessible through legal retailers.
The killing of 19-year-old Brittany Bung in October played a role in council's 3-2 vote to say no, Peters said.
Bung died on the side of the road in Lac du Bonnet. She was allegedly attacked by a man to whom she'd offered a ride only a few minutes earlier.
"We in the community have been meeting to deal with substance abuse, addiction … and trying to bring support to that as opposed to what I believe is contributing to the problem," Peters said.
The province's plan leaves municipalities to decide not only whether to accept marijuana stores in their communities but if they say yes, how to regulate local retail sales, such as zoning laws restricting the location of pot shops.
Peters said he's confident Lac du Bonnet will be able to keep pot shops out of town as long as it's what his constituents want.
Municipalities have until 2022 to decide if they want to hold referendums on whether to ban pot. They can be initiated by local council resolutions or by petitions signed by 20 per cent of electors.
Referendums are generally expected to occur at the same time as municipal elections, and a question about banning pot could be added to the ballot when Lac du Bonnet holds its municipal election next fall.
"My personal opinion may not be the opinion of the whole community," said Peters. "So we would respect that."
Below is the full list of municipalities and their responses (where available). On mobile, you can read the document here.
Mayors, reeves and RM representatives: If your position has changed or there's an issue with your recorded response, please email talkback@cbc.ca.
With files from April Lavilla-Lount, Bryce Hoye, Laura Glowacki and Jacques Marcoux.