Bancroft council has approved retail cannabis.
The vote was four to two in favour of opting-in to retail cannabis. Councillors Barry and Tracy McGibbon were the only two to vote against opting-in. Andra Kauffeldt was absent from council.
Tracy McGibbon said that she would like to see Bancroft council do what Hastings Highlands council is doing by holding a public meeting. “I think we should get feedback from our constituents,” McGibbon said. “The Clerk’s (Lianne Sauter) report was very detailed,” Mayor Paul Jenkins said in response to McGibbon suggestion. Mayor Paul Jenkins says that while he has had people come up to him with a negative opinion towards opting-in, none of them have been strongly against it.
Despite approving retail cannabis, Acting Clerk Lianne Sauter said in her report to council that it’s unlikely Bancroft would be approved for a license.
The Town has already gotten $5,000 from projected revenue the Province expects cannabis retail to bring. Now that they’ve opted-in they now get another $5,000. The $10,000 is restricted to cannabis-related uses.
“We were probably having the same discussion about liquor 75 or 80 years ago,” Jenkins says.