Re: 鈥淧ush for city pot lounge goes up in smoke,鈥� Jan. 16.
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps seems upset that the province has not stepped in and shut down the cannabis shops operating in the city that are there without permission (business licence).
So far as I know, responsibility for enforcement of municipal bylaws still rests with the city, not the province. If I opened a store selling shoes, eyewear or widgets without first obtaining the needed business licence, the bylaw-enforcement officers would pay me a visit as soon as they found out, and if I failed to comply with their rules, they would quickly take steps to help me see the error of my ways, complete with a closure order, if needed.
Why, then, do operators of cannabis storefronts get a pass? Why are the rules of enforcement different where certain products are concerned?
The mayor needs to explain why the province is being asked to enforce municipal bylaws.
K.M. Frye
Central Saanich
