Anglais

As cannabis deadline looms, 170 Ontario municipalities still have not decided on opting out of stores

Published

6 années ago

janvier 18, 2019

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As the Jan. 22 deadline to accept or decline cannabis shops looms, more than a third of the 414 municipalities in the province have yet to decide.

As of Friday afternoon, councils representing some 170 cities, towns, townships and regions across the province had not exercised their option to bar brick-and-mortar pot shops from their precincts.

And while some may simply choose to abstain from voting — tacitly accepting the stores under Queen’s Park rules — many still have their fingers in the air, industry experts say.

“A lot of municipalities have opted for the wait-and-see approach,” says Alanna Sokic, a cannabis specialist at the Toronto consulting firm Global Public Affairs.

“Cannabis was only legalized in October of last year,” Sokic notes. “There’s still a lot of unanswered questions and I think that’s what we’re certainly seeing.”

Nick Pateras, vice-president of strategy at the cannabis resource and information company Lift & Co., says some communities may be waiting for the communities directly around them to decide.

“There’s probably a bit of ‘you go first,’ ” Pateras says. “As well, I think generally that the market continues to evolve every single day … and (they’re) going to maybe leave it to the last minute so they can act with as much information at hand as possible.”

King Township Mayor Steve Pellegrini — who was vocal in his opposition to the shops in his municipality — says the pot-store procrastination is due to a number of factors.

“There are new councils and a lot of them are doing community outreach to get feedback,” says Pellegrini, whose 905 community was one of the first to decline the stores.

Pellegrini also says many councils may be waiting to see how many of their counterparts opt out, hoping for a bigger slice of the $40-million implementation fund the province is providing. That fund is to help municipalities who accept the stores deal with potential law enforcement, education and public health costs.

Meanwhile, 62 communities as of Friday had decided to refuse the stores’ entry, a number Sokic says is not surprising.

“A lot of municipalities have expressed concern about the lack of municipal control when it comes to cannabis retail locations,” she says. “And that creates a lot of uncertainty as they go about their bylaw and planning initiatives.”

While these municipalities will forgo their full share of the transition fund, they will be free to accept the stores at a later date.

“They’re very likely waiting to see how it plays out in other communities,” Sokic says.

Many of the municipalities saying no — like Mississauga, Markham, Richmond Hill, Pickering and Oakville — are located in the 905 regions surrounding Toronto. Indeed, this GTA region — which has been granted six of the 25 cannabis stores licences — has been the most reluctant in the province to accept the shops. Under provincial rules, regional governments can’t opt out.

(Toronto proper has five of the first stores, as does the eastern part of the province. Western Ontario will host seven stores, while there will be two in northern Ontario.)

In the GTA region Burlington, Oshawa, Ajax and Clarington have opted in while another four communities will hold votes on Jan. 21, Sokic says.

“If you look at the west region, all of the municipalities save for Windsor, which has yet to vote, have opted in,” Sokic says. Toronto, eastern Ontario and the North have largely bought in as well, she says.

The patchwork of 905 ins and outs will make it difficult for merchants and shoppers down the road, says Sokic. “It’s a minefield.”

Pateras says the spotty acceptance of stores in the 905 and other places could impede a strong retail-store market down the road.

“It will definitely result in a slower rollout than a lot of us were anticipating and hoping for,” he says.

“But hopefully the opt-out rate is low enough that even if your specific city or town doesn’t have a store, you can drive 20 minutes or 30 minutes to the next municipality over.”

Sokic says the opt-out decisions made by some 905 communities may have been due to more socially conservative values than other parts of the province. “I think it’s just waiting for them to acclimatize to this new Canadian reality,” she says.

Pateras speculates that many 905 communities have neither the general urban acceptance of cannabis, nor the financial incentives to host stores that exists in smaller rural towns.

“They kind of straddle the line between being an area like downtown Toronto, where cannabis is fairly pervasive … and a more rural area, which would be looking to collect the tax revenue and establish jobs,” Pateras says.

Pellegrini attributes the 905 reluctance in part to the desire of many of its sprawling municipalities to build vibrant downtown centres.

“We’re all trying to build attractive, livable downtown cores,” he says, adding cannabis stores might detract from these efforts. This “is just really not something that we are looking for, for our image of our unique, quaint community.”

But Pateras says the 905 patchwork resembles the store distribution patterns that have emerged in U.S. states that have legalized recreational cannabis use. “Over 60 per cent of Colorado’s counties, for example, still do not permit cannabis business at all,” he says. “In California, 70 per cent of counties and cities have opted out of licensing cannabis businesses … there’s generally a slow rollout.”

Pateras also says many municipalities that have opted out are leaving themselves open to continued black market sales.

“Obviously if you don’t have a legal place of access, you’re allowing for illegal sales to continue to occur.”

Joseph Hall is a Toronto-based reporter and feature writer. Reach him on email: gjhall@thestar.ca

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Anglais

Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

Published

3 années ago

août 10, 2021

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Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline.

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors.

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity.

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement.

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level.

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet.

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

Published

3 années ago

juillet 23, 2021

admin

In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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Anglais

MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

Published

3 années ago

juillet 23, 2021

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MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.