Draw to decide who gets rural pot licences

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/03/2019 (2065 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba government is getting ready to welcome new players to the retail marijuana game, with a series of random draws to select the operators of seven stores in seven rural communities.

Almost 100 applicants have met the province’s requirements, following a request for pre-qualification issued last July.

The draws for cannabis stores in Altona, Flin Flon, Lac du Bonnet, Niverville, the Rural Municipality of Russell-Binscarth, Swan River and Virden will take place “sometime this spring,” Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen said Friday.

The push for rural stores is part of the Progressive Conservative government’s retail cannabis strategy, which aims to give 90 per cent of Manitoba’s population access to a legal source of marijuana within a 30-minute drive.

“So when we look at a map of Manitoba, I sort of call it the ‘holes’ in the province that don’t have that 30-minute-drive availability,” Pedersen said. “That’s really how these communities were selected.”

Even if an applicant wins a draw, a cannabis store licence isn’t a done deal. They’ll still have to apply for the licence through the regulator, Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba, and receive the appropriate permits from local governments.

To date, LGCA has issued 21 store licences. Those companies will also be eligible to participate in the upcoming rural draws.

Pedersen described Manitoba’s market for legal cannabis as “the envy of other provinces,” citing the example of neighbouring Ontario, where government-licensed, brick-and-mortar cannabis stores have yet to open more than five months after legalization.

However, Manitoba’s supply from federally regulated producers still leaves something to be desired, he said, explaining licensed cannabis stores are only receiving about 30 per cent of the product they’d like from the wholesaler, Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp.

MLL confirmed that figure Friday, and said it’s only receiving, on average, about 30 per cent of the monthly cannabis shipments it expected from its supply agreements with licensed producers. That figure varies from month to month, MLL spokeswoman Susan Harrison wrote in an emailed statement.

“These product shortages are something that all provinces are experiencing, and to address it, we are continuing to add licensed suppliers to our network,” Harrison wrote.

Pedersen said the government would like to open Manitoba’s retail cannabis market completely, “but there’s no sense opening stores until we’ve got more product available, and this is the phase-in… We’ll get these communities set up, and then as supply becomes available, we will open it up to full retail.”

The minister and MLL both said they have no data that could shed light on whether legal cannabis sales in Manitoba are making a dent in the illicit market.

“Apparently there is pent-up demand on the legal side, when we’re only supplying 30 per cent of what stores would like to have on their shelves,” Pedersen said.

Head shop chain the Joint is one of the companies pre-approved to take part in the draws for retail cannabis stores. Ariel Glinter, director of business development and regulatory compliance, expects it will take part in all seven draws.

“Obviously, we qualified for the (draws) back in August, so it’s been a bit of a wait, so it’s nice to see that the province is taking some next steps to increase the availability and access to non-medical cannabis,” Glinter said.

About 20 Manitoba hoteliers have also been approved to participate in the draws for cannabis stores, said Manitoba Hotel Association president Scott Jocelyn. Since some hotels already sell a controlled substance — beer — they’d be “quite comfortable” adding cannabis to the mix, he said.

“Hotels are looking for new opportunities,” Jocelyn said. “They’re relevant in some of those small towns. We want to make sure they’ll continue to be relevant — looking for additional revenue streams, and again, cannabis just seemed like a great opportunity to make sure that the hotels had a chance to put their name forward and see what happens.”

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sol_israel