With just more than two months before recreational marijuana becomes legal in Canada, staffing of a special squad that Ontario has planned to help snuff out black market pot has suddenly been put on hold, The Free Press has learned.
The move follows an abrupt pivot on pot-selling by the province’s new Progressive Conservative government, which is expected to throw out the former Liberal government’s planned government monopoly on pot sales in favour of allowing the private sector to own and operate dispensaries.
Under the former Liberal government, the province in March announced the creation of a provincial operation, the Cannabis Intelligence Coordination Centre (CICC), to shut down illegal pot shops and combat the black market supply of marijuana after the drug becomes legal in Canada.
Legal weed was originally expected as early as July 1, but the federal law allowing recreational marijuana use is now slated to take effect Oct. 17.
Ontario has released no other information about its secretive task force, which is to be funded by the province and made up of officers drawn from police forces across the province, including a handful from Southwestern Ontario.
Now, hiring police officers for the CICC has been put on hold, said Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, who doubles as a member of his city’s police services board.
“I don’t understand how they cannot move forward on it, especially a government that’s so committed to law and order,” Bradley said Friday. “This deadline (for legalization) is so close.”
Sarnia police planned to hire one officer on a two-year contract to work on the task force. But when the police board met last month to approve the hiring, the city’s deputy chief told Bradley the process has been “paused”, the mayor said, adding the board gave the green light in anticipation of the hold being lifted.
“I cannot see them not proceeding with this. The sooner, the better,” the nine-term mayor said of the new Doug Ford government at Queen’s Park.
“I know they put a pause on everything, but you would think this would be a priority to move forward on as quickly as possible.”
Ford, looking to rein in spending, after his Tories campaigned on finding $6 billion in unspecified budget savings, shortly after taking office announced a provincewide hiring freeze for public-sector workers until a detailed audit is completed.
The premier’s office referred questions about the CICC to the Ministry of Finance.
Asked whether the ministry has paused hiring officers for the task force, a spokesperson said there’s no new information to release.
“Ontario will be ready with a system in place that meets the objectives of protecting youth and eliminating the illegal market,” Scott Blodgett said in an emailed statement.
Citing the sensitive nature of its work, the ministry has never revealed details about the CICC, including how many officers it would have or where it would be headquartered.
Critics have long insisted a government monopoly on selling pot won’t be able to compete with the black market on product selection and price.
Police, meanwhile, have engaged in a whack-a-mole-style battle with illegal dispensaries, shutting them down only to watch them pop back up.
The head of a cannabis business association says it makes sense for the province to reexamine its policing model as it embraces private retailers.
“While I’m as worried as everyone that this is very late in the game to be doing this, I don’t think it’s unreasonable . . . they obviously need to reassess a lot of things,” said Ian Dawkins, president of the Cannabis Commerce Association of Canada, a national trade association that represents dispensaries and other marijuana-related businesses.
Government officials are expected to announce a plan to let the private sector own and operate cannabis shops — the province would still control wholesale distribution to the stores and manage online sale — according to recent reports.
In Southwestern Ontario, police forces in London, Chatham-Kent and Windsor confirmed they’re contributing officers to the CICC, but didn’t release any further details.
The Ontario Provincial Police aren’t contributing officers to the task force, a spokesperson said.
The move follows an abrupt pivot on pot-selling by the province’s new Progressive Conservative government, which is expected to throw out the former Liberal government’s planned government monopoly on pot sales in favour of allowing the private sector to own and operate dispensaries.
Under the former Liberal government, the province in March announced the creation of a provincial operation, the Cannabis Intelligence Coordination Centre (CICC), to shut down illegal pot shops and combat the black market supply of marijuana after the drug becomes legal in Canada.
Legal weed was originally expected as early as July 1, but the federal law allowing recreational marijuana use is now slated to take effect Oct. 17.
Ontario has released no other information about its secretive task force, which is to be funded by the province and made up of officers drawn from police forces across the province, including a handful from Southwestern Ontario.
Now, hiring police officers for the CICC has been put on hold, said Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, who doubles as a member of his city’s police services board.
“I don’t understand how they cannot move forward on it, especially a government that’s so committed to law and order,” Bradley said Friday. “This deadline (for legalization) is so close.”
Sarnia police planned to hire one officer on a two-year contract to work on the task force. But when the police board met last month to approve the hiring, the city’s deputy chief told Bradley the process has been “paused”, the mayor said, adding the board gave the green light in anticipation of the hold being lifted.
“I cannot see them not proceeding with this. The sooner, the better,” the nine-term mayor said of the new Doug Ford government at Queen’s Park.
“I know they put a pause on everything, but you would think this would be a priority to move forward on as quickly as possible.”
Ford, looking to rein in spending, after his Tories campaigned on finding $6 billion in unspecified budget savings, shortly after taking office announced a provincewide hiring freeze for public-sector workers until a detailed audit is completed.
The premier’s office referred questions about the CICC to the Ministry of Finance.
Asked whether the ministry has paused hiring officers for the task force, a spokesperson said there’s no new information to release.
“Ontario will be ready with a system in place that meets the objectives of protecting youth and eliminating the illegal market,” Scott Blodgett said in an emailed statement.
Citing the sensitive nature of its work, the ministry has never revealed details about the CICC, including how many officers it would have or where it would be headquartered.
Critics have long insisted a government monopoly on selling pot won’t be able to compete with the black market on product selection and price.
Police, meanwhile, have engaged in a whack-a-mole-style battle with illegal dispensaries, shutting them down only to watch them pop back up.
The head of a cannabis business association says it makes sense for the province to reexamine its policing model as it embraces private retailers.
“While I’m as worried as everyone that this is very late in the game to be doing this, I don’t think it’s unreasonable . . . they obviously need to reassess a lot of things,” said Ian Dawkins, president of the Cannabis Commerce Association of Canada, a national trade association that represents dispensaries and other marijuana-related businesses.
Government officials are expected to announce a plan to let the private sector own and operate cannabis shops — the province would still control wholesale distribution to the stores and manage online sale — according to recent reports.
In Southwestern Ontario, police forces in London, Chatham-Kent and Windsor confirmed they’re contributing officers to the CICC, but didn’t release any further details.
The Ontario Provincial Police aren’t contributing officers to the task force, a spokesperson said.
