Chestermere’s Member of Parliament, Martin Shields gave city council an update on the work he has been doing at the federal level that may affect municipalities in 2018.
“One of things we’ve spent a lot of time on in Ottawa this past year is the marijuana legislation and that’s been a very, very interesting and lengthy process and debate,” said Shields.
Coming from a municipal background, Shields said that the biggest concern he has, and that he has raised in Ottawa, is the proposed timeline for when cannabis will be legal in Canada.
While he recognizes that with the majority government in power, legalization is unavoidable, his concern is that the rapid changes and legalization will put a significant burden on towns and cities such as Chestermere,
“They’re pushing this to happen very quickly and I believe that it’s the municipalities will have to spend a lot of time with this one because it comes down to that level to deal with,” he said.
Despite his concerns for the timing, Shields is happy that he revenue sharing by the federal government with the provinces has changed from the original 50-50 split to 75 per cent going to provincial and territorial governments.
This change will mean hundreds of millions in extra revenue for the province, revenue that Shields hope will trickle down to municipalities who will bear the brunt of the new cannabis laws.
“I hope that there is a sharing of that revenue from the provincial government now that there’s a 25-75 split and that there’s programs put in place,” said Shields.
Other legislative changes that Shields said could affect his constituency included changes to the small business tax, approval of the Kinder-Morgan pipeline and changes to the transportation act.
After the legalization of cannabis, the changes to small business tax laws will have the biggest impact on those living in the Bow River constituency.
Shields said he has heard from many constituents about their concerns over the changes proposed this past summer to the tax laws.
“In this riding, there’s only two [businesses] that you would classify as not small businesses,” he said, “That’s the sugar factory in Taber and the JBS meat packing plant in Brooks.”
One positive area that Shields hopes will lead to an increase in employment in the riding was the approval of the Kinder-Morgan pipeline.
“Hopefully that one gets built so product can get from Alberta to the coast,” he said.
