Pot producers implore Ontario to open more stores

Just 24 legal retailers open in Ontario compared to 324 in Alberta

Canadian cannabis producers are stepping up pressure on the Ford government to speed up the distribution of retail licences in Ontario as poor sales continue to dog the industry.

“Our ability to continue to invest and sustain the jobs that we have created is being severely challenged by the province’s current retail cannabis policy framework,” states a letter to the premier from the Cannabis Council of Canada. The letter is signed by the CEOs of eight producers.

“Premier Ford, Ontarians and their families employed in the cannabis sector need your support to create retail points of sale for the products they make.”

Ontario is home to nearly half of Canada’s 243 licensed cannabis producers, and the lack of retail outlets has already been flagged as one of the most serious challenges facing the burgeoning industry.

Poor sales
Canadian producers are poised this week to release their third-quarters sales figures, and they’re expected to be poor as the companies continue to struggle to push product out the door.

There are currently just 24 legal retail outlets open in Ontario, with a 25th set to open soon. Another 42 licences have now been issued, plus 26 granted exclusively to Indigenous communities. By comparison, Alberta, with less than one-third of Ontario’s population, has already issued 324 retail licences, 72 of them to Calgary operators alone.

by Amanda Pfeffer · CBC News
Read the whole article here: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/pot-producers-implore-ontario-open-stores-1.5357101