Mountain View County council has decided not to immediately move ahead with changes to the municipality's land use bylaw regarding the planned legalization of cannabis.
The decision came during the recent policies and priorities committee meeting.
At the June 7 meeting, committee members received a recommendation from administration that the land use bylaw be updated through the public hearing process to "address proposed legislative changes to legalize commercial production and sale of cannabis for recreational use."
In April the federal government introduced Bill C-45 (the Cannabis Act). It provides for access to, control and regulation of production, distribution and sale of cannabis in Canada by July 2018.
The act will also amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other acts.
Implementation of cannabis legalization will require action by the provinces and territories to develop, implement, maintain and enforce systems to oversee the distribution and retail sale of cannabis in close collaboration with municipalities.
The policies and priorities committee is made up of county councillors.
Deputy Reeve Patricia McKean chaired the June 7 policies and priorities committee meeting.
"We are just going to monitor it for now to see what recommendations they (federal government) come out with," McKean told the Gazette. "We are going to monitor it and see what changes come about.
"As far as the legislation, there really isn't anything written yet so we just don't have enough information right now. If the federal government classifies it under agriculture, we can't change that classification. If it's under agriculture, it's under agriculture."
The provincial government has announced the online survey and a series of stakeholder engagements aimed at gathering public input regarding the federal cannabis legalization proposal.
The survey - which can be found at www.alberta.ca/cannabis - runs until July 31.
"I encourage everyone to share their views on this issue as we develop a cannabis framework that works for our province," said Kathleen Ganley, minister of justice and solicitor general.
The survey is designed to gather input on Alberta's cannabis goals, purchasing cannabis, using cannabis in public, setting the legal age, protecting roads and workplaces, and the economic implications and opportunities, she said.
"The government will also be conducting stakeholder roundtable meetings, sector-specific meetings and surveys at public events across Alberta," she said.
"Once the public and stakeholder engagement is complete, the input will be used to help form a cannabis framework, which will outline proposed next steps for Alberta."
McKean says the county is encouraging residents to take the survey.
"The province is doing a survey right now on what Albertans think of the legalization of cannabis and how to deal with it," said McKean. "So we are going to post that link to our website and hope as many residents as can complete that online survey."
"We are just going to monitor it for now to see what recommendations they (federal government) come out with."Patricia McKeanMVP deputy reeve
