Province Providing More Funding for Recreational Cannabis in Halton

Published August 21, 2019 at 5:11 am

The provincial government is partnering with the Halton Region and other municipalities to take on the illegal cannabis market.

The provincial government is partnering with the Halton Region and other municipalities to take on the illegal cannabis market.

On Tuesday (August 20), the province announced the funding of $6.74 million to municipalities through the Ontario Cannabis Legalization Implementation Fund (OCLIF).

The government is also investing $3.26 million to support municipalities with enhanced enforcement against illegal cannabis operations.

“Municipalities are important partners in the implementation of recreational cannabis legalization,” said Rod Phillips, the Minister of Finance. “We look forward to continuing to work together to protect our youth and communities and combat the illegal cannabis market.”

OCLIF was announced in 2018 as a $40 million initiative over two years to help municipalities with the implementation costs of recreational cannabis legalization.

Earlier this year, municipalities received $30 million and another $10 million was set aside to address costs from unforeseen circumstances related to the legalization of recreational cannabis. Priority was given to municipalities that did not opt-out of hosting retail cannabis stores.

Municipalities had one chance to opt-out of permitting retail cannabis stores within their boundaries. The deadline to opt-out was Jan. 22, 2019. 

Municipalities must use the funding to pay for costs directly related to the legalization of recreational cannabis.

Another investment of $3.06 million will help with enhanced enforcement through provincial joint forces cannabis enforcement teams, led by the Ontario Provincial Police. This is in addition to a targeted investment of $200,000 to the Toronto Police Service to support their efforts in combatting illegal cannabis operations in the city.

“Enforcement teams work on a regional basis and are available to all municipalities and First Nations,” Phillips said. “This collaborative approach enables law enforcement to target crime across the province in a coordinated, consistent way.”

The government also plans to build a safe and convenient retail system to combat the illegal market by issuing up to 50 additional new cannabis store retail store authorizations.

insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising