Toronto to stop cracking down on illegal cannabis dispensaries

A man smokes marijuana in Kamloops, B.C. on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Toronto’s bylaw officers will no longer crack down on cannabis stores that are operating illegally.

The head of Toronto’s licensing department, Carleton Grant, made it clear during Wednesday’s budget committee meeting that due to the lack of funding and dangers of dealing with criminal activity surrounding these storefronts, bylaw officers are “no longer effective” in stifling these shops from running.

In 2018, the city received just shy of $9 million in provincial funding, through the Ontario Cannabis Legalization implementation Fund (OCLIF), to crack down on dispensaries selling products to customers without a licence. In 2024, that funding ran out.

Grant pointed to the fruits of their efforts, along with police and court services, as they chopped the more than 100 illegal stores in operation down to less than 10—a number that is now ballooning largely, in part, because of how lucrative he said the black market is.

“It’s worth it for (illegal pot shops) to pay the fines and to operate, and we are just no longer effective,” Grant told councillors at the meeting.

“We have used every tool available to us. What I’m saying is they are reopening because of the financial benefits to them and what I want to stress is that we are not the right level of enforcement to do this work,” Grant later said.

While the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is tasked with providing licensing to retail cannabis dispensaries, it does not enforce the rules against those selling pot without a licence—that is left to the city.

Since the beginning of this year, the city has worked with Toronto police on more than 90 enforcement actions, resulting in more than 200 charges laid. From 2019 to now, there have been 116 convictions against illegal operators. Anyone charged can face a fine of up to $250,000 and two years of prison time, while corporations can see a fine of up to $1 million.

Grant argues police, both locally and provincially, should be tasked with enforcement.

“It is criminal. It is organized crime, and it is not appropriate for me to send my staff into these locations where there are weapons and there is criminal activity taking place,” Grant said, adding no other municipality across the province cracks down on illegal dispensaries by way of bylaw enforcement.

Last March, city council requested the province comprehensively review the Cannabis Control Act of 2017, including roles and responsibilities, funding and enforcement, as well as addressing unlicensed cannabis establishments as the act has not been reviewed since it was first introduced.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance tells CTV News Toronto the province “continues to support cannabis enforcement efforts through an investment of $31 million over three years to enable the OPP-led Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team to respond to illegal cannabis production, sale and distribution.” This funding was announced in the 2024 budget.

Grant signalled the depleted funding from the province coupled with the city’s proposed 2025 budget, unveiled by Mayor Olivia Chow earlier this week, as his “exit from cannabis enforcement.”

This drew concern from Coun. Lily Cheng, who questioned what will happen with enforcement during this grey-area of a transition period.

“So, you’re saying there’s these scary people who run these scary stores, and now we’re just waiting and hoping that the province will step in?” Cheng asked the executive director, prompting Grant to reiterate the city does not handle criminal activity.

A spokesperson from the Toronto Police Service (TPS) says it has not been informed by Municipal Licensing and Standards (MLS) “about their concerns regarding enforcement of illegal cannabis stores (e.g. the safety of bylaw officers) or their decision to cease enforcing those bylaws.”

Speaking to reporters at an unrelated news conference on Thursday afternoon, TPS Chief Myron Demkiw said their attention is focused on higher priorities ahead of illegal pot shop crackdowns.

“We are, first and foremost, focused on the greatest priorities that we have to deal with, which, right now, are shootings, violent events, calls for service, and the like,” Demkiw said.

Demkiw adds the service will advance discussions with their city partners to see what will happen next, but reiterated police are “laser focused on our core duties and core service delivery that’s required of us as a police service.”