We are already seeing construction workers smoking during their breaks, one industry rep said at a gathering

Contractors, building owners and construction company owners say they are worried about the repercussions of the imminent legalization of cannabis and think there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

The Corporation des proprietaires immobiliers du Quebec, the Association des professionnels de la construction et de l'habitation (APCHQ) and the province's two largest construction unions - the FTQ-Construction and the Conseil Provincial - debated on Monday the impact of the anticipated legalization during a summit of Quebec's construction industry that took place in Montreal.

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Like many civic leaders across Canada, councillors in the town of Hampstead, Que., were worried about the idea of people smoking marijuana on the street once the drug became legal. So they drew up a tough bylaw - and it's set to become the most restrictive anti-smoking measure in the country.

In a move that experts predict will motivate other Canadian municipalities, the town of 7,100 has adopted a draft bylaw that would ban smoking everywhere in public, including streets and sidewalks.

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Critics fear it will force more to light up indoors

MONTREAL * A Montreal suburb's plan to ban all smoking in public places is drawing mixed reactions, with one anti-tobacco advocate saying it will do more harm than good when it comes to second-hand smoke.

Hampstead city council adopted a draft bylaw this week that would prohibit tobacco or marijuana smoking on municipal property, including sidewalks and streets.

If the bylaw is enacted, Hampstead would become the first municipality in the country to ban smoking in the street, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.

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Protesters carrying signs saying "Injustice is fatal!" laid dozens of white carnations next to a coffin on the steps of Montreal City Hall Tuesday, each representing a life lost to a drugoverdose.

A coalition of community groups, crisis workers, activists and drug users held a demonstration demanding the government repeal drug laws that marginalize drug users.

They also held a moment of silence - joining several vigils held simultaneously across Canada. The opioid crisis claimed nearly 3,000 lives in 2016, and the estimated death toll last year is pegged at 4,000 people.

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'Be it resolved the government of Canada should treat drug abuse as a health issue, expand treatment and harm reduction services and re-classify low-level drug possession and consumption as administrative violations."

That's the concluding sentence of a draft resolution up for possible consideration at the federal Liberals' next policy convention, to be held in Halifax this April. It follows a preamble that suggests Canada should follow the example of Portugal, which in 2001 did just that, decriminalizing possession of relatively small amounts of illicit drugs.

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The province's psychiatrists QUEBEC are calling on Quebec to slap limits on the potency of the cannabis soon to be sold in state-controlled stores because of the health risks of a drug they say can no longer be considered soft.

And the city of Montreal has warned the government it will need a hefty share of the tax revenues pot sales generate to cover the costs of applying the province's cannabis legislation.

Based on an independent study produced by Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, the city estimates legalization will cost Montreal between $4.7 million and $9.3 million a year in new costs in the form of additional hires and training of police officers as well as public education and human resource costs.

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Quebec municipalities seek piece of 'pot pie' as legalization creates potential challenges

With Canada's legalization of cannabis slated for July 2018, municipalities in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region could find themselves with an additional source of revenue next year. They could find themselves with many additional expenses, too.

As Quebec puts a claim on half of potential tax revenues related to sales, Quebec municipalities are demanding that one-third of that tax revenue be dedicated to them. The rationale for towns asking for their share is based on an assumption of increased costs for municipalities for law enforcement, urban planning and court costs according to the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UQM).

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