Item - 2020.TE16.74

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council request that the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, when considering the needs and wishes of the community for new retail cannabis locations in the Toronto and East York district, give additional weighting to:

a. proximity and number of community services that involve children and/or vulnerable adults;

b. the proximity of parks and other publicly accessible spaces which support or enable consumption of cannabis outside of private homes; and

c. any communications from the City of Toronto that do not support clustering of pot shops.

2. City Council request the City Clerk to forward this Item to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario within three business days.

In the past few months a noticeable cluster of cannabis shop applications have been made on Queen Street in the Riverside Neighbourhood of Toronto-Danforth.

The Provincial regulations are far more permissive than the originally proposed Municipal rules, which would have prevented some of the clustering issues.

As you can see by this chart, these four applications occur within a city block. They are immediately across the street or beside a city of Toronto Community Centre and Park, a Children's Services drop in centre, a Toronto Public Library branch, and two supportive housing apartment buildings. 

I have received a letter of concern from the Ralph Thornton Community Centre about the proliferation of stores in such a small geographic area. I am attaching this letter for you.