Pubdate: Fri, 12 Jan 2018 Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB) Copyright: 2018 Canoe Limited Partnership Contact: http://www.winnipegsun.com/letter-to-editor Website: http://www.winnipegsun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503 Author: Joyanne Pursaga Page: 6 GETTING PAID FROM MARY JANE Manitobans want municipalities to get half of pot revenue: survey Most Manitobans believe municipalities should get at least half of the revenues raised through recreational pot taxes, a new survey says. A Probe Research poll commissioned by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities found 59% of respondents believe municipal governments should get between one half and all of the tax revenue from marijuana sales. Another 24% felt they should get less than half of the revenue and 16% weren't sure. The total doesn't add up to 100%, due to rounding. The AMM says the result indicates public support for its lobby to claim at least onethird of the revenue from a federal pot tax, which is set to charge $1 per gram or 10% on recreational pot sales. Those sales will become legal in Canada on July 1. "We want to make sure ... that municipalities aren't put in a negative situation where we have additional costs but no additional revenue," said AMM president Chris Goertzen. A preliminary estimate from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) predicts legal pot will cost cities between $3 million and $4.75 million per half-million people served, primarily through policing. "Protecting Canadians from drug-impaired drivers will require police training, equipment and public education. All of this will cost money that municipalities do not have," said FCM president Jenny Gerbasi. In addition to one-third of the excise tax, municipalities say additional grants may be needed after the cost of legalizing pot becomes clearer. The federal government recently offered provinces a 75% share of the excise tax, in part to ensure revenue is passed on to municipalities. But Manitoba has yet to sign on to that agreement. And the mayor of one Manitoba community said financial uncertainty is one of the key reasons his community recently voted not to allow pot stores, at least for now. "We don't want to have (unknown costs) downloaded to municipalities. Then we have to pay for something that we don't have the revenue to pay for, which means (we'd) have to go and raise people's taxes and that's not fair," said Randy Woroniuk, mayor of the Rural Municipality of Gimli. Woroniuk said his community will reconsider allowing pot sales after the full impact of doing so becomes known. Manitoba Municipal Relations Minister Jeff Wharton wasn't available for interviews Thursday. And an email from Wharton didn't directly answer what, if any, portion of pot taxes the province is willing to pass on to municipalities. "We'll continue to work with all levels of government in establishing a framework for Manitoba," wrote Wharton. And Wharton stressed the majority of pot costs will come at the provincial level. "The reality is the provinces and territories will bear the majority of costs associated with the health, social and policing implications of legalized cannabis, including establishing the regulatory and distribution system," he wrote. - -------------------------------------------------------------- [sidebar] Question: The provincial government will soon be receiving new revenues from the legalization of marijuana. There is some debate over where this new money should be spent. Municipalities have asked for a share of the revenue from marijuana sales to offset policing costs. In your view, how much, if any, of the revenue from marijuana should be earmarked for municipalities? All of it - 10% Most of it - 16% About half - 33% Less than half - 19% None - 5% Unsure - 16% Probe says its telephone survey of 1,000 randomly selected Manitoba adults was completed between Nov. 23 and Dec. 14. It's considered accurate with 95% certainty, within plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt