The Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury may have opted in to allow retail cannabis stores, but it is among the minority compared to its neighbours.
Innisfil council voted Jan. 17 to opt in, with future amendments in the works for the town’s smoking bylaw to restrict where marijuana can be consumed.
Barrie council voted to opt in on Jan. 14, also with amendments, including doubling the distance pot shops can be from certain facilities, like schools, daycares, Georgian College, and parks, from 150 metres to 300 metres.
In BWG, part of council’s vote in favour of retail cannabis stores included a motion to make amendments similar to what was done in Barrie.
However, Adjala-Tosorontio voted back in December to opt out of retail cannabis stores, and so did East Gwillimbury earlier this month.
As well, Newmarket council voted Jan. 7 to opt out, with several of its members arguing the province’s Jan. 22 deadline for municipalities’ decisions on cannabis retail stores does not allow for enough time to develop a public education campaign or conduct a thorough review about impacts.
Earlier this month, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario released the names of 25 winners of a lottery for the province’s first cannabis retail licences.
The four winners from the province's eastern region, in which Bradford West Gwillimbury fell for the lottery, are listed as Daniel Telio, Brandon Long, Patterson and Lavoie, and Karan Someshwar.
No further information was provided about the winners, including the communities in which they are based.
Ontario's first private cannabis stores are expected to open in April.
- With files from Raymond Bowe and Kim Champion
