Pubdate: Thu, 24 Mar 2016
Source: Chilliwack Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Chilliwack Times
Contact:  http://www.chilliwacktimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1357

CITY GETS SHORT END OF THE STICK

Our page one stories today about a medical marijuana dispensary
opening up in Chilliwack are illustrative of the jurisdictional pickle
that municipalities are often put in when other levels of government
shirk or postpone their responsibilities.

Federal policy in many areas is felt on the ground, and dealt with on
the streets in cities and towns by municipal staff, and by mayors and
councillors, the latter of whom are mostly part-time elected officials.

If, for example, Indigenous & Northern Affairs Canada allows a housing
development on the Soowahlie reserve in the face of band opposition,
expect an increase in vehicles to Cultus Lake, and city hall will get
blamed for traffic jams on Vedder Road in the summer.

People even personally blame the mayor for train shunting on the CN
Rail line at Young Road.

And marijuana. Legalization is clearly the most logical next step and,
if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is true to his word, is on the way.
Health Canada, in the meantime, needs to allow for medical cannabis to
be distributed in better ways than is done currently.

Meanwhile, city hall spends money on lawyers, bylaw enforcement and
RCMP resources, which get redirected from elsewhere in the city.

Municipalities always seem to bear the brunt of policy decision at all
levels.
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MAP posted-by: Matt