Cannabis coming to Richer Husky

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This article was published 05/05/2021 (1473 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Despite objections from Seine River School Division and the LUD of Richer committee, RM of Ste Anne council approved two land-use permits that will allow the Husky gas station in Richer to sell cannabis products.

Council granted a conditional use permit and variance order to applicant Rakesh Nagpal following a virtual public hearing held April 21.

Calling in to the hearing, Nagpal declined to elaborate on his applications and indicated he would accept council’s decision.

“This is all up to you people. I’m a community guy, so as the community feels, I would like to go with that.”

Nagpal did not respond to a request for more information on his applications, which stated that the cannabis products will be stored in a gun safe.

Council’s decision effectively ends a retail cannabis desert in the Southeast, where residents seeking to buy the drug legally have had to order online or drive to Winnipeg, Morris, St Jean Baptiste, or Lac du Bonnet.

In a letter, Seine River superintendent Mike Borgfjord said the board of trustees objected to the sale of cannabis within 420 feet of Richer School’s back property line.

“Cannabis products are well known to contribute to mental health issues if young people participate at too early of an age,” Borgfjord wrote.

Students often buy snacks and drinks from the Husky convenience store, he added.

In a resolution, the LUD of Richer committee also asked council to reject the applications.

“The LUD was very divided on it. I actually abstained from the vote to allow the specific LUD representatives to make their own decision on it,” Ward 3 Coun. Brent Wery said. “The main concern was, the committee…felt Richer wasn’t ready for cannabis yet.”

“Well, they had that debate for a long time in Niverville as well, and they ended up having a store there also,” Reeve Paul Saindon replied. “The fact that it’s there doesn’t mean that you have to partake in it.”

Niverville’s cannabis outlet, Urban Flavours, was approved by town council in December. The store has yet to open.

Coun. Randy Eros motioned to approve Nagpal’s applications.

“These are concerns that every community has, and that’s why the provincial legislation is designed the way it is, to accommodate that,” Eros said.

“We want to see enterprise in our communities,” he later added.

Several councillors noted the walking distance from the school doors to the convenience store was much greater than the provincially mandated 1,000 feet.

Councillors also noted the Burnell’s Food Plus liquor vendor was closer to the school than the gas station. Nadine Vielfaure, the RM’s assistant CAO, said Burnell’s had been “grandfathered in.”

As debate wound to a close, Wery urged his council colleagues to look at the applications from a land-use perspective.

“The topic is, ‘Are we allowing a variance?’ not the ethics of, ‘Should we be selling this?’” Wery said.

Council added a condition stating that Nagpal’s permit may be revoked if the store fails to abide by all government regulations.