On June 21, 2018 the Federal Cannabis Act (Bill C-45) became law, making the consumption and retail sale of non-medical cannabis legal in Canada on October 17, 2018, subject to provincial and local government regulations. The City of Abbotsford completed a planning process to establish a regulatory framework for cannabis retail stores in 2019. This process was completed in four stages, as detailed below.
Staff conducted preliminary research and raised community awareness about the federal legalization of cannabis.
Staff asked for public feedback in an online survey from June 26 - July 20, 2018 regarding the incoming legislation. The survey results were presented to Council on August 27, 2018. View the presentation
Staff presented guiding principles and a draft regulatory framework for cannabis retail stores to Council on May 6, 2019. Council directed staff to proceed with community engagement on the draft framework. Open houses were held June 18 - June 20, 2019 and an online questionnaire was conducted June 18 - July 19, 2019.
Staff presented a summary of community engagement and recommendations for next steps to Council on Monday, September 30 (see Council Report PDS 078-2019 and the presentation for details). At this meeting, Council directed staff to prepare bylaw amendments and a policy to implement the Planning Process for Cannabis Retail Stores.
Staff introduced a proposed Cannabis Store Regulations Amendment Bylaw and a proposed Cannabis Retail Store Policy to Council on November 4, 2019 (see Council Report PDS 092-2019 and the presentation for details). Council gave the Bylaw 1st and 2nd readings and scheduled a Public Hearing for November 18, 2019.
After the Public Hearing, Council deliberated and gave the Bylaw 3rd reading. Council adopted Bylaw No. 2902-2019, "Cannabis Store Regulations Amendment Bylaw, 2019" and approved the Cannabis Retail Store Policy on December 2, 2019.
A consolidated intake and competitive review process for cannabis store applications was completed in October 2020. Applications were received during a three-month intake period (February 3 – May 1) and then processed concurrently in accordance with Council’s Cannabis Retail Store Policy. This included application screening, a public input process, and evaluation of the applications based on guidelines in the Policy.
On October 19, 2020, Council passed a resolution to support four of the seven applications that were under consideration, including:
For a summary of the application process, results, and next steps, see the November 2020 Bulletin, Council Report PDS 107-2020 or watch the presentation (fast forward to 3:15 pm).
For more information, contact staff at planning-info@abbotsford.ca or 604-864-5510.
