With the legalization of cannabis taking affect last month, municipalities, such as Okotoks, are approaching the Provincial government to share in some of the revenues for costs incurred associated with the legalization.

Susan Laurin, Community and Protective Services Director for the Town of Okotoks, says no direct revenue is received unless directed by Federal or Provincial governments.

"The town of Okotoks doesn't receive any direct tax revenue from cannabis, either from the sale, or production. All of our revenues we would receive from cannabis would come from the Federal or Provincial government," she said.

Laurin says the Federal government has allocated some revenues to Provincial governments already, and municipalities are advocating for a portion of those revenues to come back to them for costs incurred related to land use bylaws, municipal enforcement and development permit applications associated with cannabis legalization.

"All the municipalities were advocating to have a portion of the provincial revenues come back. The municipalities incur the direct costs for coming up with land use bylaws, for looking at development permit applications, and the enforcement of anything cannabis related is still done through the municipalities," she said.

The Municipal Cannabis Transition Program was announced by the Provincial government on October 15th, as a way to share the revenues with Alberta municipalities. The Provincial government then allocates the funds to municipalities at their discretion.

The MCTP program leaves some uncertainty as to funding beyond 2020, as it is only a two-year program.

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