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Tuesday, February 5, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

City council debated a rezoning application for a cannabis store located in a former bank branch in College Heights.

City council supports pot shop application Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca City council voted unanimously on Monday night in favour of advancing to final reading an application from the provincial government to open a retail cannabis store in the Westgate Shopping Centre. Their decision followed a public hearing in which one person spoke against the proposal. Retired teacher and former school board trustee Bruce Wiebe raised concerns both about the effects of cannabis and the proposed location. According to his research, Wiebe said consuming cannabis can cause panic and paranoia, slowed reaction time, impaired coordination, impaired memory, increased appetite, altered judgment and sensation and altered pain sensitivity. Wiebe said he raised those points because he and his wife had been school teachers for 35 years. “In all the years we’ve worked with children, we’ve always done our best to ensure that children received the best information, the best role modelling that was possible,” he said. Wiebe said opening a store at that location runs counter to that principle, noting that a large number of children live in College Heights and go to Westgate with their parents to shop. Wiebe’s concerns fell short of swaying city

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

A public hearing was held Monday night at city hall for rezoning application for a B.C. cannabis store to be located on Southridge Avenue. council members. Coun. Kyle Sampson said he’s heard similar concerns from other people but pointed to a “very thorough” package from the Liquor and Cannabis Distribution Branch regarding how they will handle their products. “It’s a well locked-up, privately-kept

establishment,” he said. Likewise, Coun. Susan Scott said the measures that are proposed for handling the store’s stock are “sound.” Coun. Cori Ramsay said the location is a kilometre away from every school in the area and noted no minors will be allowed on the premises.

“The province has done a really great job in setting the boundaries and I know that they’re going to go to that level,” she said. Mayor Lyn Hall said the bylaw related to such stores gives council the opportunity to judge each application on its particular merits. “This one here for me hits the mark,” Hall said. The plan is to open a BC Cannabis Store at a spot that was previously home to a bank. The front windows would be frosted to Health Canada’s requirements that cannabis not be visible to minors and the store would maintain a two ID policy for age verification. Customers will be limited to choosing what they want from displays with staff retrieving the purchases from a secured area at the back of the store. The application remains subject to the formality of being passed through final reading, likely at the next council meeting in two weeks.

Second store in works Also on Monday, council voted to advance to a public hearing an application to open a privately-run retail cannabis store in a 4,300-square-foot corner of the old Sears department store location in Pine Centre Mall. And council advanced a proposal to include cannabis production in the city’s heavy industry zone.

Legal proceeding against pipeline Police seeking suspects blockaders put over to April 15 Citizen staff A court proceeding against 14 people arrested at a blockade against the Coastal GasLink pipeline was adjourned Monday to give time to decide whether the contempt of court charges they face should be pursued as a criminal or civil matter. About 30 people showed up for the hearing at the Prince George courthouse in relation to the Jan. 7 incident that saw RCMP take down a blockade on the Morice Forest Service Road south of Houston. The action was carried out after CGL secured an interim injunction prohibiting protesters from impeding workers as they began pre-construction work on the project. If built, the $6.2-billion project will deliver natural gas from the B.C. Peace to the

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LNG Canada liquified natural gas facility planned for a site near Kitimat. Combined, the projects are worth about $40 billion. On Monday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Marguerite Church agreed with counsels’ request to put the matter over to April 15, in part to give more time to go over disclosure materials but also to give the B.C. Criminal Justice Branch time to decide if it should pursue criminal charges against the 14. Whether to move to the matter to Smithers and closer to where the defendants live is also to be up for consideration on that date. Meanwhile, the deadline for those opposing a permanent injunction against blocking the project was extended to Feb. 20 from Jan. 31, with CGL now given until May 31 to file a response.

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from gunfight Citizen staff No injuries have been reported but at least one bullet pierced the wall of a neighbouring home, Prince George RCMP said, when an exchange of gunfire broke out late Saturday night in Central Fort George. RCMP, who were called to the scene at 11:15 p.m., said it appears the exchange occurred between the occupants of a 500-block Alward Street home and of a vehicle described as a dark-coloured sedan. Those involved had fled before RCMP arrived and while a police dog picked up a scent for several blocks, no one was

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apprehended. However, a firearm was found near the home. Two adult residents of the home have been spoken to but remain out of custody. “Investigators believe this incident was targeted and not a random act,” RCMP said. “The investigation is continuing.” Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300 or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca (English only). You do not have to reveal your identity to Crime Stoppers. If you provide information that leads to an arrest, you could be eligible for a cash reward.

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