Manitoba has chosen its cannabis retailers.
In an announcement on Friday, February 16, 2018 Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen announced four organizations have been selected from those who responded to the request for proposals (RFP) last fall.
“I’d like to thank all applicants who responded to the RFP,” said Pedersen. “Following a thorough evaluation process, it has been determined that these four proposals best meet the criteria outlined in the RFP.
Pedersen noted that the government hired a third party, Optimus | SBR, to ensure the selection process was fair and equitable.
Manitoba has conditionally accepted proposals from the following organizations:
- A consortium of Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. and Canopy Growth Corporation – Delta 9 operates an 80,000-sq.-ft. production facility in Winnipeg and expects to hire approximately 100 people for production and retail in the first year, and an additional 100 the following year. Canopy Growth is headquartered in Smiths Falls, Ont., and operates numerous production facilities across Canada and around the world with over 700,000 sq. ft. of production licensed under Canada’s medical cannabis framework.
- National Access Cannabis – Operating medical cannabis care centres across Canada, National Access is committed to adapting its established medical clinic model to meet the needs of the Manitoba retail market and deliver secure, safe and responsible access to legal cannabis.
- Tokyo Smoke, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hiku Brands Company, in partnership with BOBHQ – As part of Hiku’s goal to establish a retail cannabis presence across Canada, Tokyo Smoke plans to build a network of design-forward retail cannabis stores in Manitoba with a focus on customer experience, product selection and consumer education.
- 10552763 Canada Corporation – The corporation is a new entity featuring Avana Canada Inc. of Ontario, Fisher River Cree Nation of Manitoba, Chippewas of the Thames of Ontario, MediPharm Labs of Ontario, and US-based retailer Native Roots Dispensary.
The minister says that the proposals are conditional on a number of things including the providers providing required documents and reaching the necessary agreements as outlined in the RFP.
[jaw_quote author=”Blaine Pedersen” ]We’ve said from the outset that this process has been rushed and it’s more important to get it right than meet an arbitrary deadline.[/jaw_quote][jaw_clear]
The province will be working with the selected organizations to complete their due diligence as well as deciding on the number and location of retail stores each provider will be permitted to operate.
“Our primary concern from the start has been public safety, and this will continue to be paramount,” said Pedersen. “We’ve worked quickly and diligently, and we’re confident that we’re on track to have retail locations begin operating in Manitoba as early as July 2.”
The federal government is in the process of setting the legislation in place that will legalize cannabis in Canada but is facing stumbling blocks in the Senate that could delay implementation until August or later.
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