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Mayor hoping municipalities see some cannabis taxation revenue

Mar 15, 2018 | 5:00 PM

The City of North Battleford is hoping some of the province’s revenue from taxation from cannabis sales trickles down to the municipalities. 

Mayor Ryan Bater said while he doesn’t believe it’s conclusive yet what the outcome will be, he is concerned the municipalities won’t see this revenue, despite the cost for municipalities to enforce new legislation on cannabis use.

The provincial government previously announced North Battleford is permitted to have two retail marijuana sales outlets and the Town of Battleford will receive one.    

Bater said the municipalities deserve their fair share of the taxation revenue.

“It’s important because municipalities pay for policing, so we are going to have to enforce new laws,” said Bater. “We are going to have to enforce laws related to provincial legislation as well as federal legislation. Being on the front-end, to share the resources with municipalities is appropriate because we can devote that to enforcement efforts.”

The mayor said there is also a ban on driving while impaired by cannabis use, so there are traffic laws as well as personal production laws to enforce.

“All these new laws to enforce means more resources required for enforcement, and that will require funding,” said Bater. “It’s appropriate to dedicate the taxes generated from (sales) to be directed back to the municipalities.”

He said other mayors across Saskatchewan share his concerns too. He added Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association’s (SUMA)  has also been vocal on the issue.

Bater is hoping this is addressed in the province’s budget that is to be released on April 10.

The province released a report on Wednesday, entitled Saskatchewan’s Cannabis Framework, that provides an overview of the federal government’s Cannabis Act (Bill C-45) and a plan for cannabis legalization within Saskatchewan. 

While the federal government has set the minimum legal age for consumption of non-medicinal cannabis at 18 years of age, the provinces can add additional restrictions. The Province of Saskatchewan has set the legal age for cannabis consumption at 19 years of age, the same as alcohol. 

On the issue of taxation, the province has said it will adopt the proposed federal excise taxation framework for cannabis products that applies to all products not just non medicinal. It indicated it was announced that 75 per cent of the excise tax collected on non-medicinal sales would be directed to the provinces and territories. It pointed out this is above the originally proposed 50 per cent split of revenue, and “it better reflects the responsibilities placed on the provinces.”

Karen Hill, a spokesperson for the province said in a statement to battlefordsNOW  the provincial government is “not forecasting any revenue from cannabis sales in the upcoming 2018 budget year.” 

Hill said the federal implementation date is still in question and there is “no metric for potential take-up by residents.”

She also said “there is no reliable method by which to forecast potential revenue.” The spokesperson added the 2018 year will be a “test” year to determine not only revenue but expenses, though the provincial government has already started to fund the Drug Recognition Education programs “to ensure provincial law enforcement agencies are prepared to enforce impairment laws.” 

“The provincial government will continue the dialogue with municipal partners throughout this test year, to ensure that we make the transition to legal, recreational cannabis,” added Hill.

 

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

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