Mr. Onorio Colucci
Chief Administrative Officer
The Corporation of the City of Windsor
350 City Hall Square West, 5th Floor
P.O. Box 1607
Windsor, ON N9A 6S1

Dear Mr. Colucci:

RE: Motion regarding Municipal Guidelines for Cannabis Retail Stores

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) is writing in response to the pending motion being presented for consideration to the Mayor and Members of City Council on August 24, 2020. The WECHU strongly encourages the City of Windsor administration to continue to provide feedback to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) in response to Cannabis Retail Store Authorization applications while maintaining and enhancing existing municipal policy statements.

The Province of Ontario has established minimum restrictions regarding the locations of cannabis businesses in our communities. The system put in place of a brief 15-day feedback period through the AGCO is the only current measure given to municipalities and residents to have a role in determining suitable locations for cannabis businesses that protect the health and safety and best interests of their communities. Objections are only permitted to be received by the AGCO from a municipality or resident, and will not be received from other organizations such as the WECHU. Part of the role of the WECHU is to support municipal stakeholders in making policy decisions that may affect the health and well-being of residents of Windsor-Essex. In this way, should Council decide to continue participation in the feedback process, the WECHU is able to continue to provide assistance, and the report we provide in response to applications can also be further amended to better meet your needs. Should council decide to allow administration to provide feedback in line with broad policy statements, the WECHU requests the opportunity to provide feedback into the establishment of these statements.

Maintaining a cannabis retail policy statement provides administration the ability to quickly and effectively respond to applications for cannabis-related businesses within their municipality. In addition, if cannabis businesses are expanded to include consumption lounges or cafes, having a policy statement in place will continue to provide the ability to quickly respond to such applications and ensure that the location does not cause inequitable harm to vulnerable community members (see Supporting Evidence below). Many large municipalities and border cities in Ontario have also developed policy statements and a set of similar guidelines to actively respond to cannabis retail applications (see enclosed table). As we are still at the early stages of a quickly growing cannabis retail market, the province has established only minimal requirements for the location of these stores. By joining other municipalities across Ontario in providing consistent feedback for these retailers, the City of Windsor can have a role in the establishment of standards for the siting of retail cannabis locations which minimize the potential harms of cannabis exposure and use.