Northern Ontario city looking to restrict where legal cannabis can be grown

The small northern Ontario city of Elliot Lake is looking to restrict where citizens can grow cannabis, four years after it became legal.

A new bylaw passed Monday night, during at the final meeting before a new mayor and council are sworn in, would prohibit people from growing cannabis within 10 metres of their property line.

It specifically mentions keeping cannabis out of the reach and sight of children and away from places where people under 18 could congregate including parks, schools and private property.

"So essentially, someone's backyard has to be at least 60 feet wide and you need that plant right smack in the centre," said Elliot Lake city councillor Tom Turner. 

"That's great with me."

The bylaw, which comes with the possibility of a $150 fine, is aimed at the four cannabis plants citizens are legally allowed to grow for recreational purposes under Ontario law. 

"Overall, this, I believe, satisfies the need to make sure that we are protecting our children in this community," said Elliot Lake city councillor Ed Pearce. 

"And that was really the crux that we were really, really concerned with, to make sure that our children are safe."

The bylaw still needs to be approved by Ontario's attorney general before it's officially on the books in Elliot Lake.