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Pot pageantry

Pot is officially permitted in Canada, but the finances of legalization remain as hazy as ever. The good news for St. Albertans, as of Oct.

Pot is officially permitted in Canada, but the finances of legalization remain as hazy as ever.

The good news for St. Albertans, as of Oct. 15, is the provincial government has finally answered a question Mayor Cathy Heron has been asking for months: what, if any, help will the province provide to offset the financial burden of legalization on municipalities?

The bad news is just how far short of the mark their answer falls.

The province waited until less than two days before cannabis became legal to unveil its new $11.2-million grant program, spread out over two years, to offset some of the local costs attached to legalization. The money is available only to municipalities with populations greater than 5,000, which are responsible for their own policing.

That includes 52 municipalities across the province, according to numbers from the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA), while more than 200 will be barred altogether from applying for the funds because they don't meet the requirements. Luckily, St. Albert falls into the minority that will be eligible for funding, but $11.2 million over two years spreads very thin across 52 municipalities.

The AUMA reacted quickly to Finance Minister Joe Ceci's announcement, calling the grant program a "bad deal" for municipalities. And they're not wrong: after all, the provincial government wrangled a generous revenue-sharing deal with the federal government, allowing Alberta to take 75 per cent of an excise tax on marijuana. Yet the province couldn't see fit to extend a similar courtesy to cities, towns and counties, where the residents whose tax dollars fill provincial coffers live, work and will feel the effects of legalization first-hand.

As he announced the grant program, Ceci reminded Albertans the province is losing money on this deal, too – at least for the first two years. It is unfortunate the provincial government seems to think it needs to break even on legalization before it can give municipalities the funding they truly need, since that puts the burden on local governments to cover any shortfall – which could mean increased taxes or fees.

Yet despite all financial woes, Ceci declared, Alberta is ready for legalization. We're prepared.

You could forgive municipal leaders – who have scrambled to get local legislation in place in time for legalization – for being underwhelmed by the province's pageantry.

Sadly, the announcement of the paltry sum – which averages out to $108,000 per municipality per year – comes as little surprise. The province dragged its feet for months, likely knowing the funding would be nothing more than lip service, thus dodging what would have been months of bad press and municipal flogging.

Cities have been begging for a cut of the money the province will be receiving, and the pot of money that has been announced – not to mention the province's decision to wait until less than 48 hours before legalization to inform municipalities of their plans – is a slap in the face to municipalities such as St. Albert, which is days away from releasing its draft budget for the coming year.

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