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Two Sections, 40 pages
Medical pot changes coming down the pipe
Carole Rooney
GENTRY TRAINING HARD FOR BOXING BOUT
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July 18-26 2015
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Cariboo Regional District is facing relaxing its bylaws with new changes coming to how medical marijuana production facilities (MMPF) are regulated in British Columbia. The province announced on May 7 that local governments cannot prohibit these legal grow operations in the agricultural land reserve (ALR). It has also amended the associated regulation to allow federally licensed medical marijuana production as a farm use in the ALR. CRD chair Al Richmond says the board has no actual details yet on what is going to change, other than a news release
pointing to a new bylaw standard, which staff will study and then report back to directors with recommendations. “We did enable them through Heavy Industrial [HI zoning], and we have one application probably moving forward in the South Cariboo for medical marijuana. “That was consistent with what the ministry said when we went throughout that process, and now they are saying something different, so we’ll have to go back and look at it.” The Ministry of Agriculture release states it has sent letters to each local government in B.C. advising them of the regulation change and outlining the bylaw standard, and will immediately begin
100milefreepress.net
ON THE CATWALK AT CARIBOO WOMEN’S FAIR
work with local governments to align these with all local bylaws by early fall. Richmond says the board has not yet received that letter, although staff found related information online. The ministry also says the bylaw standard is designed to ensure as much land as possible in the ALR is used for agriculture, with a provision that there should not be a minimum lot size requirement for MMPFs. It also requires they have a minimum setback of no more than 100 metres from any urban and ALR boundary whenever these lie in regulated communities. Continued on A3
Integration supported
A positive step toward an improved respecting the autonomy of individuSouth Cariboo fire services was taken al departments. at the South Cariboo Joint Committee In the new plan, the first $5,000 (SCJC) meeting on May 4. would pay for a facilitator 100 Mile House Fireto lead a workshop with the Rescue (OMFR) chief Darrell southern Cariboo Regional Blades presented the comDistrict (CRD) fire departmittee with a new, lower-cost ments on areas where plan for a study requiring no functional integration might contribution from local govenhance area services, he ernments. explained. This was after the deci“That workshop would DARRELL sion on a South Cariboo Fire involve all South Cariboo fire BLADES Services Review of a potenchiefs putting their input into tial framework and cost for it and a functional integrathis proposal had been deferred at tion plan coming out of it.” the SCJC meeting on March 9, with Blades said the facilitator could instructions to staff to bring back then create a report based on the outmore information. come by September, in time for next Blades explained he and other staff year’s budget planning. met to discuss options on March 19, He noted the plan could potentially and came up with a new potential include forming a sub-regional fire format at a lesser cost of up to $8,500. service in the South Cariboo. This significantly reduces the estiAnother $3,000 would cover an mated costs of up to $40,000 for the education session the same weekend, earlier suggestion of doing a com- with possibly a further $500 toward a plete third-party feasibility study for venue and meals, Blades added. potentially enhancing functionality Continued on A4 of the fire protection services, while
Lindsay Theuring photo
Courtney Estabrooks was one of the models hitting the fashion show runway, one of the many ladies' events at the Cariboo Women’s Fair in 100 Mile House, May 8-9. The second annual event was a big hit at the South Cariboo Rec. Centre with plenty of visitors and dozens of local vendors catering to women’s interests.