A public hearing was held at the Heritage Centre on Tuesday, July 23 to discuss a conditional use application by cannabis retailer Canna Cabana to open for business at 349 Bronstone Drive in Niverville. Approximately 60 residents filled council chambers to speak to the issue or simply witness the results.

Upon a presentation of the proposal by Bradley Schmaltz of Canna Cabana and approximately 90 minutes of feedback from residents, council’s vote was divided. In the end, councillors Kevin Stott and John Funk voted against the proposal while councillors Nathan Dueck and Chris Wiebe stood in favour.

Mayor Myron Dyck had the swing vote, and he voted against the proposal, which resulted in the proposal being denied. 

Business Decision 

To open the public meeting, the mayor indicated that he’d heard from many residents in the weeks preceding the hearing and was fully aware that there were two opposing viewpoints on the subject of cannabis, each carrying its own valid and compelling argument. He reminded those gathered, though, that council’s responsibility was to focus on it from a business standpoint.

“While the ethical, moral, social, and physiological elements of what is proposed to be sold is what many are here to speak of, the only decision council is making today is whether the company has the legal right to operate in the location they have selected,” Dyck said. 

The Proposal 

Bradley Schmaltz of Calgary provided a presentation on behalf of Canna Cabana, indicating that the company is backed by ten years of experience along with a vast knowledge of their product line. As well, they are committed to making a positive impact in any community in which they set down roots.

“We recognize the culture that sometimes can be surrounding cannabis and we’re aiming to ease that,” Schmaltz told council. “We’re hoping to bring a more positive light to the industry… Together we can help eliminate the illicit market, keeping cannabis out of the hands of the youth while also ensuring that those who do wish to use it have a safe source to purchase their products.”

Canna Cabana currently has 23 stores across Canada and boasts environmentally sound solutions by using a proprietary recycling system to properly dispose of their own packaging when it’s returned by the customer. Schmaltz says staff would be hired locally, providing jobs within the community. As well, local contractors and accountants would be hired for the build out of the premises.

He provided assurances to council that they fully support working together with the local RCMP to provide education to the public. At the retail location, all efforts are made to prevent entry to anyone under 19 years of age. Security cameras would be installed throughout the store, including at the entry and exit points, and cannabis products would be stored in an RCMP-grade gun vault. All exterior windows would be coated in an attractive glaze preventing outsiders from looking in.

Recognizing the stigma attached to cannabis, Schmaltz referenced a study in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization performed in Washington State, one of the first states to fully legalize recreational cannabis. The study, he says, showed a reduction in property crime and theft, a reduction in binge-drinking, and a reduction in teenage cannabis use within a governmentally regulated system.

“The moral here is that we help keep cannabis out of the hands of the youth and we try to help keep the profits out of the hands of the criminals,” Schmaltz added.

Twelve residents stepped forward to object to the proposal, many suggesting that a business decision cannot be made without considering the social and ethical impact this kind of business could have on the community. 

The Argument Against 

Dr. Chris Burnett, a family physician of 39 years, was the first to address council. He himself has been prescribing medical marijuana for the past four years. In the end, though, he cautioned council not to act too quickly on the matter until more research is available.

Burnett cited the known medical benefits as well as the known risks of long-term use, including dependency and psychosis. His concerns lie, mostly, in the many things we don’t yet know about the effects of cannabis use.

“It took about 40 years of research to link smoking to lung cancer and it took another decade to link it to heart disease,” said Burnett. “[Cannabis] is a product that is endorsed by government and [now] it risks being endorsed by council. An interesting question is, who will receive the lawsuits in two or three decades? We’re being dangled a promise of tax benefit, but [there’s so many things] we just don’t know and I feel that creating a human lab experiment at the expense of the Canadian population… is not acceptable.”

Peter Braun, a long-time pastor in the community, warned council that their authority holds much power and influence with the community’s young people.

“There’s many social trains coming down the track,” said Braun. “We must do everything we can to impede the process on some of these things. While we try to protect the rights of all citizens… let’s not make a decision where young people [will be] assuming that, because town council made this decision, it isn’t a [problem area].”

Lifelong resident Dan Klippenstein suggested that council consider the possibility that Niverville’s attractiveness to newcomers might be the level of safety people feel here from the vices of the bigger city.

“What attracts people to Niverville?” asked Klippenstein. “Are newcomers looking for everything that Winnipeg has to offer or are they looking for proximity to Winnipeg with some space between them? …I suggest that it is our differences and uniqueness as a community rather than the desire to be just like Winnipeg and other large communities that makes us an attractive option for newcomers.”

Gord Kroeker, director of the Cornerstone Youth Centre, brought forward the impact he sees a cannabis store having on the vulnerable youth he deals with on a daily basis.

“We are a centre that caters primarily to minors and [cannabis sales] is something that is of grave concern to me,” said Kroeker. “Many of these kids are drug users and we love them and we welcome them in.”

Kroeker further noted that, located conveniently between the youth centre and the proposed cannabis location, is a patch of woods that is regularly used by young people for late-night drinking and drug use.

“I know and I trust the business at hand to do their due diligence and have many safety precautions,” he adds. “But I also know… that’s it’s very easy to get an older brother or perhaps even a parent to purchase marijuana and give it to you.”

From a societal standpoint, Kroeker says he also sees how habits such as gambling, alcohol, and drugs tend to attack the underprivileged.

“We’re not actually getting rid of dealers,” Kroeker said. “There will be dealers that will still sell to kids. I know them. They’re not going out of business… But what we’re doing is we’re letting a large dealer into our community and saying, ‘This is okay.’ …Ultimately, you can argue the good that marijuana does, but there will still be a cost and we should all be aware of the cost… It’s not the happy people I’m concerned about. It’s the unhappy people that are using [these vices].” 

The Argument For 

One resident, Crystal Stott, approached council to present another perspective to the issue. While she agrees that such a business would require strict regulation, Stott says that many of the arguments made at the meeting mirror those made years ago when the town held a referendum on alcohol sales in the community.

Quoting from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, she says cannabis can, in fact, be a gateway drug but that alcohol and nicotine also prime the brain for a heightened response to more lethal drugs. The site also pointed out that the majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use harder substances.

“Other factors besides biological mechanisms, such as a person’s social environment, are critical in a person’s risk for drug use,” Stott said, quoting from the site. “People who are more vulnerable to drug-taking are simply more likely to use readily available substances such as tobacco or alcohol, and their social interactions with other people who use drugs increases their chances of trying other drugs.”

The same warnings that apply to cannabis use, she says, also apply to antidepressants, sleeping pills, and other accepted medications.

“I would argue that a lot of pharmaceuticals on the market have been around for less long than cannabis products have been… and there is more money spent on researching those drugs because the pharmaceutical companies have a stake in that game,” says Stott. “So to say that pharmaceutical products are okay but natural products are not, I don’t think you can make that blanket decision based on your own personal belief system.”

Mayor Dyck followed with the reading of five emails that had been received from residents in favour of a cannabis location in the community, many of them urging council to consider the impact such a move could make in terms of shutting down the black market trade. 

A Rebuttal 

Schmaltz was provided one last opportunity to rebut the residents’ concerns. In regard to cannabis being a gateway drug, he asserts that this happens when maximum profit is the top priority, such as is the case with black market dealers who strive to get kids on marijuana with the intent of luring them into the more profitable illicit drug market.

Canna Cabana, he says, will only ever carry cannabis products.

He also welcomes the idea of creating a profit-sharing plan to provide for programs that make the community a more educated and safer place for kids. 

Proposal Denied 

Council closed the public portion of the hearing to huddle over their own deliberations. Hours of operation were discussed at length, as well as exterior security cameras and washroom restrictions within the facility.

When the vote was held, the proposal was denied by a vote of 3–2.

“While council would rather be dealing with less controversial matters, being the low rung on the government ladder means that the federal government has made a decision that has severely limited the options available to us as a municipal government,” Dyck said. “But we do have options.”

One option, Dyck says, is to take the federal government to court on the matter. Another is to better educate the public on cannabis similar to the education invested into wise alcohol consumption. A review with council’s legal team, he said, is in order.

“We face legal opposition either way,” said Dyck, suggesting that council could be taken to task by Canna Cabana or higher levels of government for denying the request. Similarly, if they approved the retail store, lawsuits could ensue from users who are negatively impacted by cannabis purchased at the facility. “I have some questions that have not yet been answered… and I would like greater clarification on the legality.”