Open house on cannabis brings residents out to discuss the upcoming bylaw prior to implementation

 

On Thursday, September 20 council and administration held an open house ahead of the second and third reading of the new cannabis consumption bylaw. Back on August 21, town council did the first reading of Bylaw 1475-1 and set forward in motion the plans for the community which include prohibiting cannabis consumption in all public places. During the open house at the Forest Interpretive Centre council members were on hand to speak with residents.

“I’m really pleased to see the number of residents who took time out of their busy schedules to come and give us some feedback and input into cannabis consumption,” said Mayor Chichak. She added that speaking with residents from both sides of the debate is imperative to putting forward legislation. One of the areas of concern that she said was brought up repeatedly was consumption in backyards.

“The biggest issue we are seeing is definitely the smoking in backyards. Some people that I’ve talked to have indicated that there are other provinces that have done total bans even on private properties but that’s not the direction that we went as a council. That’s a little bit harder to enforce and you have to make sure that you enact bylaws that have the ability to be enforced if there is a complaint that comes forward.”

Concerns were also raised about whether there would be an increase in usage with the legalization. “There is the thought that usage is going to skyrocket but there’s others that think its going to remain status quo and that we won’t see additional usage. It’s the unknown and everything will be through trial and tribulations for us. This issue isn’t going to be resolved overnight. It’s one that’s going to have to be monitored and chances are in five years or even a decade from now we’re going to see changes being made to the whole legalization issue.”

Although there were many concerns raised by residents during the two-hour long event, Mayor Chichak said there was also a lot of support for the bylaw and how council is putting it forward. “It’s nice to see that support. I’m happy. I love seeing people come out and ask questions because that’s part of why you elect us is the ability to have that one-on-one contact with us.

Until Friday, September 28 administration will have the survey up on the website (www.whitecourt.ca) and will share the link across social media. “I encourage everyone to fill it out and provide us with their input on what’s a very important issue coming forward in our community. It’s an interesting conversation and it’s one that people have opinions on both sides and that’s fair and I respect that.”

Once the survey closes, all the answers and feedback provided will be compiled by administration and presented back to council. From there they will see if adjustments need to be made to the bylaw or if it is good to go as it was introduced at first reading. “I really encourage people to go online and participate. It’s a simple survey to fill out. Provide your feedback and let us know what you think. It’s difficult when decisions have been made to hear from residents after the fact. We are giving you the opportunity so please take advantage of that.”