Weed will be delivered to Ontarians' doorsteps in 2018, but the process won't be quite the same as Amazon.
Finance Minister Charles Sousa confirmed today that, like alcohol, delivery options will be available when legalized marijuana rolls out on July 1. However, he added that it won't be dropped off at the doorsteps of Ontarians or left inside their doors. Instead, they'll have to sign for their purchase and show identification.
"(Online delivery) will be made available on the day weed becomes legal," Sousa said.
"It will have to be person-to-person. Just as liquor is now available online, they have to be available with ID to ensure they're the individuals ordering it and they're of legal age. So, nothing will be left at the doorstep."
Sousa was asked what the costs to open the first 40 legal weed outlets would be, but he said that number wasn't yet available, adding that he'll know more next week.
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The annual end-of-year auditor general's report is Christmas come early for the opposition parties, mostly because they get to see the government receive lumps of coal.
"I thought you would never ask," said a thrilled Lisa MacLeod when a reporter wanted to know what she was looking forward to in the report.
"I expect you'll see the Treasury Board president again attack the credibility and legitimacy of the auditor general, and I think that will be an ugly mess and unfortunate, but I expect that's going to happen. And I think you'll see some stuff on government advertising."
NDP house leader Gilles Bisson is looking forward to different parts of the report. "We're looking forward to the sections on hydro and the school boards. Those are two that we're interested in. But I have every confidence that the auditor will have a report as usual that is cutting, gets to the bottom and makes sure we get a good bang for our dollar."
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The provincial government is funding a major expansion of Toronto Western Hospital that will update the aging infrastructure to accommodate modern and future medical technology, Health Minister Eric Hoskins announced Monday.
Hoskins said the dollar figure isn’t yet set, as the project must go out to tender, but said it’s expected to be in the $100-million range.
Hoskins said it’s part of a $20-billion health system capital infrastructure investment planned over the next decade.

In Brief: Weed delivery, auditor-general report expectations, and a hospital update for the modern age

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