Milton councillors have decided, for now, to opt out of proceeding with hosting retail cannabis stores in town.

At the first full meeting of the new town council on Monday, councillors voted 6-2 to opt out of the process being overseen by the provincial government.

Voting to opt out were councillors Zeeshan Hamid, Rick Malboeuf, Colin Best, John Challinor, Mike Cluett and Sameera Ali. Voting against opting out, for now, were Rick Di Lorenzo and Kristina Tesser Derksen.

The purchase and use of recreational marijuana has been legal in Canada since Oct. 17. For now, it is only available to buy in Ontario through the online Ontario Cannabis Store.

However, the provincial government is permitting privately-licensed stores to sell cannabis in municipalities via storefronts beginning April 1, 2019.

Read more:

Toronto council opts in on pot shops

Mississauga council says no to cannabis shops

The Ford government has given Ontario’s municipalities a deadline to make a decision as to whether to allow cannabis-selling businesses in their area.

The decision to opt out must be made by Jan. 22, 2019. If a decision to opt out is not made by then, the municipality will, by default, opt in to permitting retail cannabis stores.

Municipalities that decide to opt out may later reverse that decision. A municipality that opts in, by its own resolution or by default, can’t reverse that decision.

Despite opting out of retail stores for now, councillors hedged their position by directing staff to report back to council to reconsider opting-out once more information on the issue becomes available, but no later than December 2019.

New provincial legislation now permits private cannabis retailers to establish stores in areas zoned for commercial/retail uses and only restricts those retailers from locating within 150 metres of a school.

That has concerned many municipalities.

Also, municipalities will not have the ability to regulate the number of authorized retail locations as applications will be received, reviewed and issued by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

Initially, the province was going to permit unlimited numbers of retail cannabis stores to open in towns or cities where there is proper zoning for retail/commercial uses.

Now, the Ford government has announced a phased approach to licensing; there will be a lottery for 25 initial retail cannabis licences in Ontario.

In Halton, so far Milton is the only municipality to make a firm initial decision.

The Town of Oakville will vote on the issue at its first meeting of the new year, on Jan. 14.

Halton Hills and the City of Burlington have both voted to defer the issue until January.

The City of Mississauga has opted out of the process while the City of Toronto has opted in.

The province has committed to providing $40 million in funding over two years to municipalities to assist with the implementation costs of recreational cannabis legislation.

Milton Coun. Rick Malboeuf said his mind has been changed on the issue based on recent provincial government moves.

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“I was going to support opting in but . . . we have no control over how many stores can come in (and where).

“The other concern I have is that the rules keep changing. Seventy-two hours ago it went from an open market for all and now it’s down to 25 (licences) to start.

“We can always opt in later but once we opt in we can’t opt out. We lose nothing by waiting,” Malboeuf said.

“We don’t have the tools to do this job. We’re best off to wait,” agreed Coun. Colin Best, noting a federal election is coming next October and that perhaps the rules on cannabis sales/stores will change again.

Councillor Kristina Tesser Derksen thought it was best to opt in to having cannabis retail stores from now.

“What would it have to look like for us to opt our forever?” Tesser Derksen said, noting that Colorado had $1.5 billion (U.S.) in cannabis sales last year.

She said there’s money to be made with retail stores and also likes the idea of keeping the illegal sale of pot out of the hands of those doing it now.

“The people who want us to opt out are those selling it right now. The sooner we can take the wind out of their sales, the better,” said Tesser Derksen.

Councillor John Challinor said organized crime is playing both sides of the situation, indicating that it will sell it legally and illegally.

“We’re not going to keep the substance away from anybody.”

Councillor Rick Di Lorenzo said opting out means more work for Halton police, noting an illegal cannabis dispensary was raided in Milton last week.

He also told council he spoke to a police officer informally and was told they believe it will be easier and cheaper to monitor the sale of recreational marijuana from legal sources.

Di Lorenzo wanted to defer a vote on opting in or out of cannabis retail stores until the public can be surveyed. He said an unofficial survey he conducted showed 63 per cent of people in Milton want the town to opt in.

Di Lorenzo’s motion to defer a decision until the Jan. 21 council meeting, a day before the province’s final opt in-opt out deadline, was defeated 6-2.