Legal cannabis retail stores soon could open their doors in the city.

Councillors will discuss at next week’s community development committee meeting lifting the prohibition on stores that sell pot.

Council voted a year ago to opt out of permitting the stores to operate in the municipality. At the time, Mayor Kevin Davis said the idea was to opt out temporarily and try to get a better deal with the province.

There were concerns about the city’s control over where stores would be located, the proximity of stores to schools, daycares, colleges and universities, community centres, nursing homes and other “sensitive land uses,” and the municipality’s cut of excise tax collected by the province on the sale of pot.

At a meeting last June, council endorsed a resolution of the Large Urban Mayors’ Caucus of Ontario calling for additional regulatory controls.

Since that time, Davis has met several times with Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey to advocate for changes.

“The conversations have been going very well,” said Coun. Rick Weaver who, in Davis’s absence, presented a notice of motion to discuss the matter at Tuesday’s committee meeting.

Weaver said he believes the province is close to amending legislation that will give municipalities more control over cannabis stores.

“The city needs to move forward and, hopefully, stamp out some of the black market.”

Weaver said more illegal operations moved into the city after, in October 2018, it became legal to buy, use and possess recreational marijuana in Canada. Each province has its own rules pertaining to buying and using cannabis.

Weaver said it’s a burden on police to close down these illegal operations and they have “more pressing issues they need to deal with.”

The Ontario government announced last month it is set to open the province’s cannabis market and remove a cap on the number of private retail store locations, abandoning the current lottery system.

At the time, Downey said the changes will give consumers more choice and convenience and a “safe, reliable supply of cannabis.”

Other changes include eliminating the pre-qualification requirements for prospective retailers and allowing licensed producers to open a store at one of their facilities. Cannabis retail license holders will have no limit on the number of stores they can open, starting in August. Right now, licensed retailers are capped at a maximum of 10 retail operations. Stores will also be able to allow customers to order their products online with in-store pickup.

Weaver said retailers interested in establishing legal stores in Brantford will need time to prepare submissions to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

The notice of motion moved by Weaver also calls for city staff to prepare a municipal cannabis retail policy “in order to ensure that the interests of the public are protected.”

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario began accepting operator licence applications from prospective retailers this week, to be followed by a second round starting on March 2. Store authorizations from the open application process are expected to be issued beginning in April, at an initial rate of about 20 per month.