Provincial Updates

Ontario

The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), the provincial wholesale monopoly and online retailer, appointed David Lobo as chief executive officer on a permanent basis. Lobo was installed as interim CEO one year ago after working as the OCS’ chief merchandising officer. He had been the organization’s sixth CEO in three years.

Manitoba

According to an article in Stratcann, The Half Circle, or THC, is a new, integrated online platform and delivery service that allows consumers to order cannabis and have it delivered almost immediately within a certain region. With a new licence from the Manitoba government issued in June, and a previous beta test with a Winnipeg cannabis store behind them THC is now ready to begin taking on retail clients over the next few months before a formal launch to consumers in September, says Josh Giesbrecht, CEO of The Half Circle.

Quebec

At the end of its 2021-2022 fiscal year, which ended on March 26, 2022, the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) sold 109,351 kg of cannabis compared with 91,529 kg last year, an increase of nearly 20%. In addition, the SQDC’s activities generated $214 million in revenues for the Quebec government, representing an increase of $26 million compared with the previous year. The Company recorded sales of $600.5 million during the year.

Quebec-based Hexo Corp. announced it will be laying off 450 people after revenue fell 14% in Q3 from the previous quarter, per BNN Bloomberg.

Saskatchewan

The federal government announced in early July that nearly a dozen Saskatchewan businesses will be granted $26 million of support to stimulate innovation and growth within the province. Just under $1.8 million will be going to Mother Labs to expand and enhance cannabis breeding operations in Western Canada.

Alberta

Calgary-based adult-use marijuana retail chain High Tide announced a deal to acquire nine stores from Choom Holdings, including six in Alberta, two in British Columbia and one in Ontario, amid a consolidation trend in Canadian cannabis retail. The acquisition, worth $5.1 million CAD ($3.9 million US) in High Tide shares, comes after financially distressed Choom was granted creditor protection in April.

British Columbia

The Flowr Corporation herein announces the completion of a significant corporate headcount reduction resulting in more than $4M in cost savings per year as well as an agreement to sell a non-core asset for aggregate gross proceeds of $3.4M, a nearly 40% reduction in its workforce. The Company has completed a headcount reduction necessary in order to flatten its organizational structure and right-size SG&A with revenue.

Prince Edward Island

A 31-year-old man from Summerside, PEI, has been sentenced to four years in prison following a drug trafficking investigation in the community.On January 10, 2021, members of the Prince District Joint Forces Operation (JFO) Unit conducted a targeted traffic stop in Borden as part of a drug investigation. Police seized quantities of cocaine, over two pounds of methamphetamine, cannabis, money, and drug trafficking paraphernalia. A 39-year-old man was arrested at the scene.

Nova Scotia

The NSLC released its year-end financial results (April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022), reporting earnings of $268.7 million. Total sales for the year were $820.5 million, with cannabis sales of $101.7 million. Cannabis experienced an 18.2% increase in sales, surpassing sales in the Ready to Drink category. The NSLC added 13 more cannabis stores to its network across the province for a total of 37 stores.

Newfoundland & Labrador

According to a CBC article in late June, Cannabis N.L. online customers have been asked to consent to having their data transferred from servers in Canada to servers in the United States. The email from Cannabis N.L., the online marijuana retailer owned and operated by the Newfoundland and Labrador’s Crown liquor corporation, says Shopify, the ecommerce platform that hosts the website transfer of data occured on July 31, 2022.

New Brunswick

Cannabis NB (CNB) released its unaudited results for the first quarter ended July 3, 2022. Total product sales of legal recreational cannabis for the quarter (13 weeks) were $19.7 million, a slight decrease of 0.6 per cent from the same period last year. Net income for the quarter was $4.1 million, 16.3 per cent ahead of the prior year’s first quarter net income of $3.5 million.

Cannabis NB added two new locations in June including a seasonal pop-up store in Saint John, and a new corporate store in Woodstock, New Brunswick. The store in Saint John will be part of the Area 506 Container Village with the Woodstock Cannabis NB store at 418 Connell Street. A third store was added in Riverview in August.

Yukon / Northwest Territories / Nunavut

Residents can let the city know their thoughts on the proposed rezoning of the former Marble Slab location on Second Avenue to allow for a cannabis retail shop. Whitehorse city council passed first reading of the bylaw to rezone 2220 Second Ave. for restricted commercial operations within 100 metres of a school on July 25. The change would allow the Community Cannabis store to open. / Officers with the Northwest Territories RCMP have a new tool to determine if drivers are over the legal limit for cannabis. The federal government notes that testing at or over two nanograms (ng), but under 5 ng, of THC per milliliter (ml) of blood, is a straight summary conviction offence punishable by a maximum fine of $1,000. If a driver is convicted of a hybrid offence — either at or over 5 ng of THC per ml of blood or at or over 2.5 ng of THC per ml of blood combined with 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood — carries mandatory minimum penalties of $1,000 fine for a first offence, 30 days imprisonment for a second offence and 120 days imprisonment for a third offence. / According to The Growth Op, a new cannabis store may soon be opening its doors in Nunavut, marking just the second brick-and-mortar dispensary in the territory of 40,000 people. A bylaw amendment that would allow Higher Experience Inc. to operate next to Northmart supermarket passed second reading at an Iqaluit council meeting earlier this week, reports Nunatsiaq News, but the proposed plan has yet to receive final approval. The store would also be about 150 metres from the Nakasuk Elementary School.