St. Catharines city council is all in when it comes to pot shops.

Councillors voted unanimously Monday night to opt in and tell the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario that it will allow private cannabis retail stores within the city.

St. Patrick's Coun. Mat Siscoe, who made the motion, said Niagara is a leader in the production of cannabis and is one of the largest cannabis producing areas in the world.

"I would argue we are actually standing on the cusp of what could be a new wine industry," Siscoe said, adding if St. Catharines wants to be part of the cannabis industry, it needs to move positively towards it.

"We have an opportunity to continue to be a leader. Saying no to cannabis sales I think sends the wrong message to that industry."

The federal government legalized cannabis on Oct. 17. Currently, the only way to buy it legally in the province is through the online Ontario Cannabis Store. The province is introducing private retail stores on April 1 that will be overseen by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

Ontario municipalities have been given until Jan. 22 to opt out if they don't want cannabis retail stores in their communities.

Siscoe said if St. Catharines voted to opt out of cannabis retail stores, it would be voting in favour of continuing the black market in St. Catharines.

That's an issue St. Catharines Member of Parliament Chris Bittle spoke about when he addressed council, one of five delegations in favour of the city's opting in. Two people spoke against the stores.

Bittle said the government legalized cannabis to take profits out of the hands of criminals and create a safer product for Canadians.

He said the billions of dollars criminals made selling cannabis until 2018 was used to fund other illegal activity like buying guns and human trafficking. An important part of legalization, he said, is to curtail those sources of revenue but it won't work if there aren't stores in Ontario.

"Brick and mortar stores are an essential component of the strategy to remove the criminal element of cannabis sales," he said, adding an online-only sales model won't replace criminal sales.

Monday night's vote does not guarantee St. Catharines will be chosen by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for a location when the first batch of stores open on April 1. Only seven stores will receive licences in the whole West Region, which runs from Niagara to Hamilton to Windsor and north to Waterloo and Manitoulin Island.

The licencing application process is currently underway for the seven operators and 18 others in the province who were drawn in a lottery on Friday. The winners must submit a retail operator licence application and a $6,000 non-refundable fee, along with a $50,000 letter of credit.

Only three of Niagara's 12 municipalities currently quality for cannabis retail stores because they have populations of at least 50,000.

Welland and St. Catharines have opted in. Niagara Falls deals with the issue Tuesday night.

All Niagara municipalities are voting to opt in or opt out though, as requested by the province in anticipation of more stores opening up at a later time. So far, West Lincoln, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Wainfleet and Pelham have opted out and Port Colborne and Fort Erie have opted in.

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Municipalities that opt out are allowed to opt in at a future date, but will get a smaller financial payment than those that opt in before Jan. 22.

For St. Catharines, it means a first payment of $76,101 before Jan. 22 and a second payment of $76,101 or more after Jan. 22. Had the city opted out, the second payment would be only $5,000.

The money from the Ontario Cannabis Legislation Implementation Fund is to help municipalities deal with costs related to the federal legalization of cannabis, such as increased policing or bylaw enforcement, education and awareness or public health initiatives.

Municipalities that opt in cannot opt out later.

Karena.Walter@niagaradailies.com

905-225-1628 | @karena_standard

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