Cannabis dispensary ordered to ‘remove or reconfigure’ CityPlace Halloween kids’ maze by city officials

A Halloween children’s corn maze that appears to have been built by a Toronto cannabis dispensary was ordered to be “removed or reconfigured” by city officials on Wednesday.

CAFE, a company that has sparred with law enforcement over the past year, appears to have built it in conjunction with the CityPlace Kids Halloween Crawl.

The maze was made of bales of hay and resembled the dispensary’s “CAFE” logo.

“The City of Toronto became aware of this issue this morning and gave the permit holder until 2 p.m. today to remove or reconfigure the maze, or City staff would do it for them,” said Brad Ross, chief communications officer with the City of Toronto.

“Federal law prohibits sponsorship by cannabis-related companies,” he added. “The city’s actions are unrelated to enforcement and legal proceedings related to CAFÉ.”

The poster for the 2019 CityPlace Kids Halloween Crawl.

At around 4:50 p.m., city crews arrived at the park to take down the maze.

Watch: Crews remove hay bales from site

It’s unclear if CAFE is a direct sponsor of the event, however, another version of the poster appears to show the company’s logo listed under the corn maze location.

CityNews has reached out to the CityPlace Residents Association and Concord Adex who appear to be the organizers of the event. There hasn’t been a response.

A CAFE spokesperson denied that their corn maze wasn’t in compliance with federal or city regulations.

“The maze was configured in a design spelling the word CAFE, commensurate with section 16 of the Cannabis Act,” Aaron Burke told CityNews on Thursday.

Burke said the company has sponsored events in the area before with no issues.

“CAFE has been an unwavering supporter of community events like the annual Halloween Corn maze we began last year, the Christmas Drive, Easter Egg Hunt, Movie Night, Turkey Give-Away, Tournament of the Tots and many others,” he said.

Burke added that the removal of the maze was political.

“Politics should not be interfering with this kind of goodwill,” he said. “The destruction of the maze was clearly an illegal act, based on emotion.”

 

Another view of the corn maze the city ordered to be taken down on Oct. 30, 2019 (Courtesy: Right_All_The_Time/REDDIT).

 

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