Also at the Budget Pop Up meetings, the City will be asking Oshawa residents to fill out a survey whether they prefer to opt-in or opt-out of hosting private recreational cannabis retail stores in Oshawa.
The Province is providing municipalities a one-time opportunity to opt-out by January 22, 2019. The City Manager states that "this option to opt-out, which may affect the portion of funds (a minimum of $10,000) a municipality may be eligible to receive from the cannabis excise tax or Provincial Offences Act fines, can be reversed but any decision to opt-in is final.
Municipal licensing by-laws will not apply and local zoning cannot distinguish the use of land or building on the basis of the sale of cannabis. The public and municipalities, however, will receive a 15-day notification period to allow comment on a proposed store site.
To better inform City Council’s decision of whether to opt-out by January 22, 2019, the City will be initiating a public consultation process on the hosting of private recreational cannabis retail stores. The consultation will take place in November 2018. A staff report containing the results of the public consultation will be released to Council mid-December in advance of a January Council meeting."