Ontario allows retailers to operate up to 75 cannabis stores, each due to lack of clarity about the rules

Cannabis retailers in Ontario will be allowed to operate each up to 75 stores, the province announced in an update of its rules governing the sale of marijuana in physical outlets this spring.

But the industry is still waiting to see if companies owned in part by licensed producers can open several.

The Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General released a press release Wednesday night outlining the rules governing store opening times, where they are built, and when retailers can begin to apply for licenses.

However, the province has not specified how it would limit the reach of cannabis producers. Ontario's Cannabis Act, which came into effect on October 17, states that producers and their affiliates "may not hold more than two retail store licenses", but do not explain what we mean by "subsidiary". The producer could take a minority stake in a retailer to have more than one store.

The government press release indicated that the official regulations would be published online. It is possible that the text addresses the issue of affiliates. At the time of publication, the rules were not yet posted and government spokespersons did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

James Burns, General Manager of Alcanna Inc., which operates five NOVA Cannabis stores in Alberta, said he was still waiting for his company to enter the Ontario market because Alcanna is 25% owned by the licensed producer. Aurora Cannabis. Inc.

"For us, the important thing is the definition of an affiliate," he said. "We certainly intend to be full participants in the industry. … I do not plan to sign leases tonight because we still do not know the rules. "

Producers are the most profitable players in the sector: they can afford to engage in bidding wars and pay too much for coveted spaces. Many of the largest legal cannabis producers in Canada want to start retailing on what could be the most lucrative market in the country to advance their products and gain in-depth knowledge of the consumer.

Despite the lack of clarity on the part of Ontario, future retailers have already been able to secure prime real estate without knowing whether they would be eligible to open a cannabis store. Another disadvantage is that Ontario municipalities have until January 22 to refuse to allow cannabis stores, potentially jeopardizing store leases already signed in these markets.

Other regulations were laid out more clearly on Wednesday. The province has announced that it will accept retail applications as of December 17. Shops can be open daily from 09:00 to 23:00. Once the new cannabis retail scheme is launched on April 1, outlets across the province will need to be at least 150 meters from a school.

Until April, Ontarians can only buy legal recreational cannabis online. Physical stores have opened in other provinces, including Alberta and Quebec.

The launch of the Ontario government-run digital store was chaotic, customers had been waiting for orders for weeks, and the store was blaming everything from the Canada Post strike to the mislabelled packages. The store – called the Ontario Cannabis Store – announced Monday that it had cleared its backlog, processing 220,000 sales since legalization.

The regulation comes close to one month after the start of legal sales and three months after the Progressive Conservatives announced their intention to abolish the Liberal retail model. The previous government had granted the Liquor Control Board of Ontario a monopoly on the sale of recreational cannabis, with plans to open 40 stores in the first year. Instead, the province is turning to the private sector for in-store sales by April and plans to continue operating the online store.

With a report by Marcy Nicholson in Calgary

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