A new report from city staff in Winnipeg says there have been no public complaints or licence applications following the designated medical cannabis production zoning amendments adopted in 2022.

The city adopted their new bylaw to regulate designated medical cannabis production sites in April 2022 following community concerns at such operations occurring in residential areas within the city. Health Canada allows the licensing of designated individuals to grow cannabis for others who are authorized to access cannabis for medical purposes. 

Such licences have been under increased scrutiny in the past few years from several municipalities and many Conservative MPs, especially in Ontario, where the OPP says criminal enterprises are exploiting the Health Canada medical, personal and designated cannabis production regime. 

A southern Ontario county says they are the first in Canada to take steps to manage personal and designated medical grow licences through local zoning bylaws. Not limited to Ontario, though, in 2022, municipalities in Alberta called for limits on medical cannabis grows in residential areas.

As part of Winnipeg’s 2022 bylaw, city staff were also required to put together a report two years later on the effectiveness of the new licensing program. Staff were given an extra six months in April 2024 to complete the report, which is scheduled to be reviewed by the city’s Standing Policy Committee on Property and Development on November 8. 

The report notes that since the program’s implementation, there have been no licence applications for designated cannabis production facilities. It also points out that the city has not received any calls from residents about such licences during this time.

City staff also note that while Health Canada’s public portal said at one point there were around 2,000 designated and personal medical growers operating in Manitoba, as of October 2022, these numbers now show fewer than 20 designated growers in the province.

While personal and designated production licences had seen several years of steady declines, a recent report from Health Canada notes an uptick in licence issuances in 2024, including in Manitoba.

The number of personal and designated medical grow inspections conducted by Health Canada has been increasing in the last few years. There have been more than 300 such inspections in the previous two years.

All such designated growers of cannabis for medical purposes in the City of Winnipeg are required to be licensed under, and comply with, the bylaw. The licensing program allows city officials to conduct inspections, suspend or revoke a licence, or issue a fine if there are health and/or safety concerns.

Manitoba also recently passed a law that will allow people in Manitoba to grow up to four cannabis plants at home, although the law is still not in force. The staff report says that public consultation will be launched through Manitoba’s online consultation platform, EngageMB in the fall of 2024, with proclamation expected to be in early 2025.

City staff does not recommend any changes to the city’s bylaw.

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