Ste Anne Council has approved the sale of retail cannabis in their municipality and has become the first RM in southeastern Manitoba to do so.

A virtual public hearing on the matter was held last night and Deputy Reeve Randy Eros notes he was almost surprised by the lack of demonstration. The Husky gas station in Richer was looking to sell recreational marijuana and Eros says the only letters of opposition Council received were from the Seine River School Division and Local Urban District committee.

“I don’t think schools are ever happy to see this happen,” comments Eros, “and one of the challenges of course is that Richer is not a large community, so really if you are going to have it anywhere, it is going to be in proximity to something.”

Unlike Steinbach and Niverville which both held plebiscites when the Government of Canada legalized marijuana, Ste. Anne chose to accept the changes without holding a community vote.

“We saw it as a federal regulation that was provincially controlled,” says Eros, describing Council’s view. “We felt our role as a municipality was to manage these as entrepreneurial requests, much like you would have for a hotel or a liquor store.”

Like most RMs in Manitoba, Ste. Anne has bylaws that dictate where cannabis outlets can be stationed; in their case, no closer than 1,000 feet from a school. Eros says this was the reason the hearing was necessary. While the doors to the Husky and the doors to the school are roughly 2,000 feet from one another, he says the two defined property lines are actually closer than 1,000 feet. Council, he says, viewed this specific issue as trivial. After further discussion, the councillors voted to allow the venture.

“We approved the conditional use reiterating, of course, that the Husky has to be in compliance with all federal and provincial regulations”

While he is aware that the public sale of cannabis is entirely unique to the region, Eros does not see it as particularly remarkable.

“Quite frankly, I don’t see this as groundbreaking,” he says. “It may be the first, but it is not going to be the only one by a long shot. It is a changing world and this is part of the evolution of the market.”

Reeve Paul Saindon expresses a similar sentiment. “It’s a little odd that we are in the forefront of this considering how long it has been legal for,” he remarks, “but we didn’t go looking for it. We just sat back and waited until this is what a retailer wanted. It just sort of happened.”

It is uncertain when cannabis sales will officially start but, from a municipal perspective, the applicant may now begin at any time.