Wants to see more community engagement before final decision is made

While Oct. 17 is the official date that pot can be legally sold by in Canada, Guelph mayor Cam Guthrie believes that's too soon for the city to opt in.

Guthrie said he wants further consultation with the province and further consultation with community stakeholders before Guelph decides whether to allow retail marijuana stores in the city limits.

The province has said municipalities can opt out of allowing retail marijuana stores if they desire.

"At this time, the best thing for us to do, and to follow our engagement processes properly, is to opt out at this point," Guthrie said.

"Then maybe in the spring next year, after we do a community engagement process, only then should we look at allowing and opt in to the retail sales in the community."

Guthrie made the comments during a mayoral debate at the Italian Canadian Club.

"Let's opt out for the moment, let's do an engagement process, then maybe we can look to opt in in the spring of next year," he said.

Guthrie said after the meeting that with no council meeting scheduled until November, current council may have to hold a special meeting to address the issue prior to Oct. 17.

The city is currently meeting with provincial officials about what the new rule mean for municipalities.

"Municipalities are scrambling right now," Guthrie said, referring to the new provincial government's decision to allow private pot retailers.

"There's a huge amount of engagement that needs to be done with the stakeholders around Guelph, a huge amount," Guthrie said.

Aggie Mlynarz, Guthrie's competition for mayor in the upcoming election, said she was under the impression municipalities would have just one opportunity to opt in or opt out of allowing retail stores.

She said it's important to opt in because otherwise it will fuel the black market for marijuana in Guelph.

"It's important to recognize that if someone wants something, they will access it in any way they see fit," Mlynarz said.

"We need to get ahead of this curve" and stores will have a positive effect in the long term on tackling the black market issue.