NDP MPP Marit Stiles wants Ontario municipalities to have more control over the number and location of pot shops in their areas. The overcrowding of cannabis shops is an issue in several cities in Ontario including London and Toronto. London has 31 cannabis shops with 29 more in line to open.
“Just the way with liquor licenses, municipalities’ voice can be heard in the application… do we need five in one block, could we space them out a little bit better,” Stiles’ said on what sort of control over pot shops she wants to establish through her bill. Her proposed legislation has passed the first reading and has also won the support of two Toronto city councilors.
Stiles also believes that her proposed legislation, if passed, would also help to protect small independent weed shops from big companies in the cannabis industry.
Davenport MPP Stiles proposed the same legislation last year too but private member’s bills were wiped after the legislature was prorogued. She is hopeful that the government sees it as an important issue and brings it forward quickly.” If we had done it two years ago, we wouldn’t be in the situation we are right now.”
Easy access to legal cannabis is a good thing – but a flood of new retail licenses is leaving main streets without the diverse shops and services that make them great places to live, work and shop. My bill seeks a balance by giving cities a greater say:https://t.co/zevKRktePt pic.twitter.com/QXEZmLKrHL
— Marit Stiles (@maritstiles) November 10, 2021
