Nenshi: announcement means Calgary taxpayers won’t pay to police legal cannabis
Posted Dec 12, 2017 7:11 am.
Last Updated Dec 12, 2017 7:12 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Calgary’s mayor says it’s going to be key for provinces to cut down on red tape, to make sure money from legal cannabis will funnel down to cities.
Naheed Nenshi reacted to an announcement from Canada’s finance minister Monday, promising the federal government will leave 75 per cent of revenue from sales to provinces.
Nenshi said he would have preferred funds flow directly to municipalities.
“But Minister (Bill) Morneau was very clear, and I believe has been very clear publicly, that one of the reasons they are giving more money to the provinces, is specifically to cover the municipalities’ costs,” he said.
He said there’s one big reason why it would have been difficult to give the cash directly to cities.
“Because not all municipalities control their police, and so, in cases where you have RCMP or you have provincial police, obviously the money would have to flow in a different way,” Nenshi said.
The cost for policing, by-laws, zoning and more will be in the range of $12-million a year in Calgary, but Nenshi expects none of that will be put on taxpayers.
