Provinces have to step up to ready their storefronts
TRUDEAU SAYS MARIJUANA WILL BE LEGAL AS OF OCTOBER 17
Mark your calendars: after 95 years, Canada’s prohibition on recreational cannabis will come to an end on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018.
But how many storefront retailers will actually open for business that day is just one of the many questions that remain, and over the next four months it will be largely up to the provinces and territories to produce the answers.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the date in the House of Commons Wednesday, the day after the Cannabis Act passed its final vote in parliament. While the federal government had previously estimated eight to 12 weeks would be needed between passage of the bill and legalization, Trudeau said that timeline was too aggressive.
“We heard from provinces and territories who told us they needed more time to transition to this new framework,” he said.
“It is our hope that as of October 17, there will be a smooth operation of retail cannabis outlets operated by the provinces, with an online mail-delivery system operated by the provinces, that will ensure that this happens in an orderly fashion.”
There are an assortment of models in place as provinces prepare for the legal sale of cannabis. The western provinces will allow at least some private retailers to operate, while eastern provinces (including Ontario but excepting Newfoundland) are restricting sales to government-run stores.
Some provinces, however, are far ahead of others. Trina Fraser, a cannabis business specialist at Brazeau Seller Law, said New Brunswick is nearly ready to start stocking its store shelves, for example, while B.C. hasn’t even started accepting applications for licences to operate private stores. Ontario has so far announced locations for only four of its government-run stores; the former Liberal government planned to have 40 open by year’s end, but with incoming premier Doug Ford having mused during the election campaign about opening sales to the private sector, plans in the country’s largest province could still change.
NOW THAT THE BILL IS GOING TO HAVE ROYAL ASSENT, THE PROVINCES ARE GOING TO HAVE TO STEP UP. — TRINA FRASER, CANNABIS BUSINESS SPECIALIST AT BRAZEAU SELLER LAW