Canada is only weeks away from the original promised legalization date for recreational cannabis.

But while the federal and provincial governments have been working quickly to set the rules and put plans in motion, it seems the municipal governments have been left in the dark, at least according to one Ontario Mayor.

Mayor of the City of Brantford, Chris Friel, addressed an audience of cannabis industry professionals in a panel discussion at Lift & Co.’s Business Conference last week. He expressed visible frustration over how the municipalities have not been informed on or given the proper resources for legalization. 

“We are not ready,” said Friel. “If we don’t know what the regulations are, we don’t know what we’re going to do.”

The conference began with a presentation by Director General of the Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Secretariat, Government of Canada, Eric Costen. The presentation, Canada as a Cannabis Leader: Setting World Standards, discussed the steps that Canada has taken to establish a safe and successful industry across the country.

Following Costen’s presentation was a panel discussion consisting of Director of Policy, Cannabis Legalization Regulation Secretariat, John Clare, President and CEO of Alcool NB Liquor, Brian Harriman, and Mayor Friel.

Friel was the last of the panel to speak, and credited Harriman for his in depth presentation on how New Brunswick plans to implement legalization, stating Ontario has not given nearly as much detail.

“The federal government works in years and months, and the provincial government works in months and weeks,” said Friel, “But municipal government works in real time. We’re the ones dealing with the people who are immediately impacted.”

He explained that municipal governments are the ones who witness firsthand just how extreme the opinions are on either side of legalization and ultimately local law enforcement will have to deal with complaints and all kinds of new issues once cannabis is legal. He said that almost 100 percent of the amount allocated for police training in relation to cannabis legalization is going to the Ontario Provincial Police, rather than to local police.

“Municipalities have almost no idea how much money we’re getting for this. And as to whether we are going to be included in these discussions,” said Friel.

Mayor Friel sits as the Chair of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s (AMO) Cannabis Legalization Committee and is a vocal advocate for municipalities facing unchartered territory as the country moves swiftly toward legal, adult-use recreational cannabis.

Friel did note that he was not there to speak on behalf of the AMO but that municipalities are expressing frustration at the lack of engagement and information from the Federal and provincial government.

He also called the lack of public education from the federal and Ontario provincial government “deplorable”.

 “(Public education) needs to be on the street level now – not two months from now. Where is the public education program? Now municipalities will have to pick that up and not get compensation for that.”

Brian Harriman of the New Brunswick Liquor Corporation is confident in how his province is implementing legalization, despite Friel’s contempt for the Ontario government’s plan.

“We’ve been working on it for 30 months,” said Harriman. “We basically started working on it as soon as Trudeau started campaigning and we saw that this would likely be a reality.”

Similar to New Brunswick, Ontario has also decided to have control over provincial cannabis sales through the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, another issue for Friel.

Friel believes that the province should adopt a system similar to British Columbia which allows for both government and privately run retail cannabis stores, especially because it’s created an entire industry for so many young people.

“We’ve eliminated an entire job category for millennials,” said Friel, in response to the government run cannabis shops that will open in Ontario under the name ‘Ontario Cannabis Store’.

As for right now, a July legalization date is unlikely. Canadians will likely be waiting until August, and possibly as late as September to legally purchase recreational cannabis. Senators will have a final vote on June 7 on the legislation that will move legalization forward.