Whistler’s mayor and council granted assent to a fifth cannabis retailer on Feb. 6, signing off on a Temporary Use Permit for The Nest to operate in Nesters Plaza.
Nesters Plaza is the one Temporary Use Permit area within the RMOW that does not yet have a cannabis retail store assigned to it. The Resort Municipality of Whistler’s (RMOW) cannabis policy permits one retailer to operate in each of five designated areas.
The Nest will be located on the lower level of Nesters Plaza facing east, located next to a café and in close proximity to a liquor store and other retailers.
The owners will be required to sign a “Good Neighbour Agreement,” which is a requirement of all cannabis retailers operating within the RMOW.
In their community impact statement, the applicants said they are committing to giving seven per cent of their store’s annual net earnings to the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (SLCC) at the end of each year. The statement also mentioned outreach and discussions with the Lil’wat Business Group (LBG) on opportunities for investment, but late correspondence from the LBG appeared to negate those discussions.
When queried on the late correspondence by Councillor Cathy Jewett, staff said they evaluated the application within the scope of the bylaws, and noted there are no explicit guidelines on how businesses forward reconciliation through partnerships with First Nations (another requirement of Whistler’s cannabis retail policy). Staff also noted the Lil’wat Council is in support of the application.
During discussion, Coun. Jessie Morden said she is excited to see local owners opening up a cannabis retail shop, and noted they committed to using EV modes of transportation for delivery in their application, “and I really hope they fulfil that.”
Coun. Ralph Forsyth indicated he would vote against approving the application.
“I’m not going to support this for the same reasons that I did last time,” he said, citing a lack of financial benefit coming back to the RMOW through weed licenses and taxes due to gaps in the federal legislation that has that money congealing in provincial coffers, and not flowing to municipalities.
“Municipalities get zero money from this, because when [the federal government] wrote the act they didn’t figure out they needed to tell the province that they must share the money with the municipalities, so the province doesn’t have to share it, so they don’t—why would they? So we get no benefit. I don’t think it makes our town a better place. I know the applicants, I wish them well, they’re lovely people, but I’m not supporting this.”
Council voted six to one to support the application at the Feb. 6 meeting, with staff recommending its approval.
Council’s approval is required to go with the application to the province’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch, which will issue a license to the operator if they are successful. From there, the application will come back to the RMOW for additional permits such as a business license.
Meanwhile, Whistler’s second cannabis retail storefront—Spiritleaf Whistler—opened in Creekside in January, while its first, A Little Bud, has been operating in Function Junction since October.
Whistler first moved to ban cannabis retail after federal legalization in 2018, aiming to exert more control over when and how pot shops appeared in the resort.
The RMOW finalized its own cannabis retail in policy in 2022 before it began accepting applications.
