Legalization of cannabis: the cities want to be laid down by the 28 February on the income

Photo Simon Clark
The president of the UMQ Alexandre Cusson and mayor Régis Labeaume

Jean-Luc Lavallée

Tuesday, January 16, 2018 20:11

UPDATE
Tuesday, January 16, 2018 20:13

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The Union of municipalities of Quebec (UMQ) and the mayor of Quebec city are getting impatient about the vexing issue of sharing revenue from cannabis and want to clinch an agreement with the government Couillard by 28 February.

The president of the UMQ Alexandre Cusson and mayor Régis Labeaume have taken advantage of their passage in the National Assembly on Tuesday, during the study of bill 155, to put pressure and throw a message to the liberal government during a joint press briefing.

“Everyone says : time is of the essence, the month of July is going to happen quickly. Between Ottawa and the provinces, it has taken three weeks for this question-there is a rule. For us, it would not be logical that it take months for the matter to be adjusted between Quebec and municipalities”, has hammered Mr. Cusson, who is also mayor of the City of Drummondville.

The cities, need I remind you, claim one-third of the revenues from the sale of cannabis, that should, in theory, be legalized in the country from the month of July, even if the prime minister Justin Trudeau has thrown the reins on this date in an interview on end-of-year VAT, appearing more determined than before.

Although it happens, for the president of the UMQ as the mayor of Québec, it is imperative to adjust “quickly” the question of revenue sharing before of regulate on the use of the substance in public places.

“For us, this is an essential question. As long as we will not know the share of the income, it’s going to be difficult for municipalities to develop policies and to plan how it will happen. Adopt regulations, it has financial implications, and make a settlement that it did not have the means to implement them, for us, this is not consistent,” said Mr. Cusson.

An ultimatum?

“There, it is January, it can’t pass in February. I totally agree with the president of the UMQ. It is necessary to settle the question of finance. It comes fast on the 1st of July and when we talk about framing, if I have more money, maybe I will be able to modulate things, because I’ll have the money it takes to provide police, etc,” she said Régis Labeaume at his side.

Even if he mentioned the date February 28 as a deadline, Mr. Cusson has advocated launching an ultimatum to the government. “This is not an ultimatum. It would be an ultimatum, if we had a discussion and that there were no solutions, there, what we said is that we are prepared (to negotiate),” he insisted.

Last December, we learned that Ottawa had agreed with the provinces to remit 75 % of the revenues from the excise tax on cannabis.