

The City of Hamilton is seeking community input on whether to permit licensed private recreational cannabis retail stores in Hamilton.

The survey is now closed





On October 17, 2018, cannabis was legalized by the federal government of Canada.

Currently, in Ontario, the only place to legally purchase cannabis is online from the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS). The provincial government is also moving forward with a regulated private, bricks and mortar, retail model for cannabis that will launch by April 1, 2019.

These stores will be licenced through the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), not by the municipality.

The provincial government gave Ontario municipalities a one-time opportunity to opt out of having provincially licensed retail cannabis stores in their communities. The deadline for City Council to make this decision is January 22, 2019. The City could opt in at a later date, but then would not be eligible for a portion of the funds being offered by the provincial government.

Timeline