NIPAWIN — A location has been approved by Nipawin council for a new cannabis shop
The shop will be on the corner of 1st Street West and 1st Avenue West, adjacent to the liquor store. It was approved at the council meeting Sept. 10.
“It’s in the downtown core, and it’s pretty central, so that works out quite well,” said Barry Elliott, the town's administrator. “It meets the criteria of our zoning bylaw, so it’s not in the restricted areas or buffer areas from restricted sites such as daycares and that sort of thing, so it appears to be a pretty good location.”
Elliott expects now that the council has finished with preparation for the new cannabis store, the owner must be anxious to get started.
“I would look forward to hear more from doing it. I’m sure they’re pretty anxious now that they have a location to get themselves prepared so it won’t be that long and coming I gather.”
This isn’t the only cannabis related work Elliott and Rennie Harper, Nipawin's mayor, has been doing on Sept. 10 – with both participating in a cannabis webinar for employers.
“I think everyone’s as little unsure as to what the next steps are going to be. It appears as though the cannabis legalization, if you will, took a bit of a fast track,” Elliott said. “I know the mayor and I participated in a webinar on Monday for workplace cannabis policies and that sort of thing. All municipalities and employers will be facing the same challenge to make sure that cannabis use is identified within their employment, employee programs and policies, that sort of thing.”
In the workplace it’s intended to be treated similar to alcohol, but without being able to use a breathier to detect it. Elliott imagines some difficulty.
“I’m sure there will be guidelines developed and shared not just with municipalities, but all employers.”
