Dozens of Ontario cities, towns and villages have hung keep-out signs on their borders, opting out of hosting pot shops.It was not clear late in the afternoon on Tuesday — deadline day — precisely how many had chosen to bar the brick-and-mortar establishments, 25 of which are supposed to open April 1 across the province.But at least 65 municipalities had decided to prohibit the shops. These included large centres like Mississauga, Markham, Oakville, Pickering, Richmond Hill and Vaughan in the 905 regions surrounding Toronto. Toronto itself voted yes to the shops and is scheduled to see five open April Fool’s Day.Municipalities that have chosen to opt out can reconsider and welcome the stores anytime. But a decision to allow them is irrevocable.Communities that refused the stores, however, have forsaken their full stake in a $40-million implementation fund the province is providing to help defray any increased policing, education or public health costs the shops may bring to welcoming municipalities.The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario will release a full list on Wednesday morning showing how all 314 communities granted the opt-out right by the province voted, spokesperson Ray Kahnert said in an email.Read More: Which GTA cities voted to opt-in to allow pot stores? Which ones opted out?Rod Elliot, a senior vice-president and cannabis expert at the consulting firm Global Public Affairs, says the decision to opt out was largely made by older, more conservative councils that still saw a shady haze around cannabis.“Most local governments rely on the advice of staff reports and I don’t think I came across one city staff report that recommended opting out,” Elliot says. “So the decision by some councils to opt out I think was purely political.”He saw two main factors. First, the stodginess of older, more socially conservative councils and communities, who frowned on the concept of legal cannabis. Second, “I ...
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