Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Serving the Hub of the North since 1960
Volume 58 • Issue 04
Slippery streets
PROVINCE CHIPS IN FOR SAFETY OFFICERS NEWS - PAGE 2 Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham A combination of new snow on top of that which remained on city streets from previous snowfalls combined with high snowbanks impeding vision resulted in a number of car collisions in Thompson late last week and over the weekend.
Cannabis businesses permitted in Thompson, with conditions BY KYLE DARBYSON KYLE@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
NORTHERN JURIED ART SHOW COMING IN MAY ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PAGE 5
SENIOR GIRLS WIN AGAIN SPORTS - PAGE 7
PEEWEE KING MINERS CAPTURE CUP SPORTS - PAGE 7
Municipalities across the country are standing on pins and needles in the lead-up to the summer of 2018, when the federal government is aiming to make marijuana officially legal in Canada. Even though cannabis retailers could begin operating in the province as early as July 2, a lot of questions still remain about how the regulation and policing of this drug is going to look on the ground. Thompson city officials are definitely mindful of these questions, especially after the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) announced on Dec. 21 that they signed a partnership with National Access Cannabis to potentially set up a marijuana retailer in the Hub of the North. “The issues that we would have to address … from the municipal end of it, would be the zoning aspect to ensure that the use itself is allowed in only specific zones,” said city manager Gary Ceppetelli, going on to explain that they need to keep these retail locations in commercial zones and away from schools and residential areas as much as possible. With those parameters in place, potential retail locations could be largely relegated to the downtown core, which means that the RCMP will be on high alert in an area that is already known for substance abuse problems. “From what we’re being told from other organizations and levels of government it likely will increase
the cost for enforcement,” said Ceppetelli. Insp. Kevin Lewis, head of the Thompson detachment, also spoke briefly about this issue during the Jan. 15 council meeting, predicting police will see a rise in impaired driving once legalization takes full effect. Despite the potential drawbacks associated with this change, Ceppetelli also mentioned that the marijuana industry could provide a boast to the local economy, since the city is already looking at business redevelopment and diversification through initiatives like Thompson 2020. “It’s about growing the economy,” he said. “Regardless of what they’re selling, the more businesses that are establishing in our community, the bigger tax base that we will get. So, it will grow that tax base and allow us to sort of expand that into various components.” However, since the buying and selling of legal cannabis will be relegated to privately run storefronts in Manitoba—as opposed to government operated venues in Ontario—organizations like the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) are wondering how the revenue will be shared. According to a recent poll commissioned by AMM, 590 out of 1,000 respondents indicated that local government should get between one-half and all of the revenue from the sales of marijuana. Only 240 respondents felt the municipalities should receive less that one half of the revenue, while the remaining people surveyed
were unsure. “These numbers show that Manitobans are concerned about the increased costs of cannabis legalization and their local government’s ability to pay for it,” said AMM president Chris Goertzen in a Jan. 11 press release. “This is just another example of how
municipalities deserve a ‘fair share’ of revenues, and our citizens support this.” In terms of the Manitoba government, minister Blaine Pederson said in a Dec. 28 press release that they are committed to “establishing a highly competitive retail environment” and are cur-
rently looking over 100 submissions from applicants hoping to sell marijuana in the province. The provincial government will ultimately select only four of these submissions, and the successful applicants will be notified sometime in February.
Hydro project worker killed near Gillam A 22-year-old man from the Lake Manitoba Fist Nation working on the transmission line from Keeyask to the Radisson Converter Station near Gillam died as the result of an accidental injury around 9 a.m. Jan. 17. The man was an employee of Forbes Bros Ltd., a private contractor working for Manitoba Hydro, and was injured in a marshaling yard about 45 kilometres from Gillam. According to a Forbes press release, the employee, who had worked for the company for several years, was hit by a piece of material that fell off a flatbed trailer as the load was being secured for transport to a job site. Gillam RCMP attended the scene of the accident and said in a press release that the man was loading metal sheets when two of the 15-foot sheets moved in his direction and struck him. Emergency services were contacted immediately and he was transported to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead despite the efforts of his colleagues at the site and nurses and doctors in Gillam, said Forbes CEO Matthew Forbes. "We are in close contact with his immediate family, some who have
worked with us, and offered our deepest sympathies," said the CEO. "Support to the family and Forbes employees is being offered through a combination of services provided by Forbes, Manitoba Hydro and union representatives." The family has been notified but the man's name is not being released so they can notify their extended relations first, said Forbes Bros. Representatives of Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health are investigating and collaborating with the RCMP investigation and the company is also working with them. "In addition to supporting the family, we will be working alongside Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health and Manitoba Hydro to thoroughly investigate this and to ensure we fully understand what caused this tragic loss," said Matthew Forbes. "Our thoughts and condolences go out to the worker's family," said Manitoba Hydro CEO Kelvin Shepherd in a Jan. 18 news release. "This is a very sad and tragic incident. Counselling has been made available to all contractor and Manitoba Hydro employees who were on site at the time of the accident."