THUNDER BAY — The Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board is displeased with the location selected for the city's cannabis store.
In April, the province announced that the Thunder Bay outlet for the Ontario Cannabis Store will be in a multi-unit commercial building at 570 Harbour Expressway, on the same lot as the Real Canadian Superstore.
In an announcement Monday, the school board announced a pending meeting with OCS and Liquor Control Board of Ontario officials "to express our concern" with the location.
The statement outlined two specific concerns:
- The location is in an area frequented by youth and is "very close" to schools, grocery stores and shopping malls
- School officials and key local stakeholders were not invited to provide input into the location
The board noted that City of Thunder Bay officials were consulted prior to the April 11 announcement of the chosen site.
City officials had previously stated that the store should not be located near any waterways, schools or areas where young people gather.
According to the school board, it has invited Nancy Kennedy, president of the OCS, and Cortney Oliver, a policy advisor with the LCBO, to a meeting to "take us through the process on how the location in Thunder Bay was established, and will answer any questions or concerns from local stakeholders."
The meeting is scheduled for the Catholic Education Centre at 459 Victoria Ave. W. on June 25 at 6:30 p.m.
Information on a provincial government website indicates that the cannabis retail stores to be opened around Ontario will be designed with a lobby area which customers will enter before going into the retail section.
Clients will be required to produce ID in order to enter the retail area.
