Amended Resolution on the Financial Implications of the Cannabis Act
WHEREAS the Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-45, an Act that will provide legal access to cannabis and will control and regulate its production, distribution and sale (hereinafter the “Cannabis Act”);
AND WHEREAS the Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-46, which will amend the provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada that deal with offences and procedures relating to drug-impaired driving (hereinafter the “Criminal Code amendments”);
AND WHEREAS the Government of Canada has pledged to enact the Cannabis Act and the Criminal Code amendments and legalize recreational cannabis in prescribed circumstances as of July of 2018;
AND WHEREAS the Government of Ontario has introduced Bill 174 which will, inter alia, regulate the use and distribution of recreational cannabis in Ontario and amend the provisions of the Highway Traffic Act that deal with offences and procedures related to drug-impaired driving (hereinafter the “Ontario Cannabis Act, 2017”);
AND WHEREAS, having regard to the experiences of other jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis, the enactment of the Cannabis Act, the Criminal Code amendments, and the Ontario Cannabis Act, 2017:
Will result in increased cannabis consumption and a corresponding increase in demands on police resources for cannabis related enforcement and calls for service;
Will result in an increase in the number of Criminal Code and Highway Traffic Act offences associated with cannabis consumption and driving; and
Will not eliminate the prevalence of organized crime in the production, distribution and sale of cannabis;
AND WHEREAS the enactment of the Cannabis Act, the Criminal Code amendments and the Ontario Cannabis Act, 2017 will result in a significant increase in York Regional Police training costs associated with, inter alia, cannabis enforcement, standard field sobriety testing, the use of roadside drug testing equipment and qualifying police officers as drug recognition experts for the purpose of impaired driving investigations and trials;
AND WHEREAS the enactment of the Cannabis Act, the Criminal Code amendments and the Ontario Cannabis Act, 2017 will require York Regional Police to purchase expensive roadside drug testing equipment and supplies at an estimated cost of $1.7 million over the first three years;
AND WHEREAS the enactment of the Cannabis Act, the Criminal Code amendments and the Ontario Cannabis Act, 2017 will require York Regional Police to hire and train additional front line officers to respond to the increase in demands on police resources for cannabis related enforcement and calls for service at an estimated cost of $5.7 million annually;
AND WHEREAS the Regional Municipality of York Police Services Board (the “Board”) has determined, based on a financial outlook and having regard to the experiences of other jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis, that the approximate additional expenses that York Regional Police will incur as a result of the enactment of the Cannabis Act, the Criminal Code amendments and the Ontario Cannabis Act, 2017 is $5.7 million in 2018; $6.4 million in 2019; and $8.6 million in 2020; which, on average, amounts to approximately $6.9 million per annum or two per cent of the police services annual operating budget;
AND WHEREAS, in the absence of sufficient funding from the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario, presumably from cannabis related sales and taxation, the citizens of York Region will be required to bear the brunt of these policing cost increases either through a significant increase in their property taxes or a significant decrease in the level of service provided to them by York Regional Police;
AN WHEREAS, on July 10, 2017, the Board endorsed a Board Resolution on the effective policing of the Cannabis Act and forwarded the resolution to the Canadian Association of Police Governance, the Ontario Association of Police Services Boards, the Premier of Ontario, Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, local Members of Parliament and Members of Provincial Parliament and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
- The Board calls on the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario to provide funding to the Board, in the amount of $5.7 million for 2018, $6.4 million for 2019 and $8.6 million for 2020 to offset the additional expenses that York Regional Police will incur as a result of the enactment of the Cannabis Act, the Criminal Code amendments and the Ontario Cannabis Act, 2017.
- The Board calls on the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario to establish a stable funding program for cannabis related law enforcement and to provide sufficient funding to the Board, on an ongoing basis and a rate of approximately two per cent of the York Regional Police operating budget, per annum.
- The Board calls on the Regional Municipality of York to adopt and endorse this resolution and for the Regional Municipality of York to call upon the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario to provide the Board with stable and sufficient funding for cannabis related law enforcement as aforesaid.
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