The B.C. government is working with local governments on a formula for sharing revenue from legalized cannabis sales, but so far there is no revenue to share, Finance Minister Carole James says.
B.C.B次元官网网址檚 revenues from sales are lagging far behind neighbouring Alberta, which has many more licensed stores and about five times the sales as B.C., according to the latest Statistics Canada figures since recreational marijuana was legalized in October 2018.
James and other B.C. cabinet ministers are preparing for meetings this month with the Union of B.C. Municipalities to discuss the progress of cannabis store licensing and revenue sharing.
B次元官网网址淥ne of the first steps is to look at who is responsible for what, because the province has responsibility for some of the pieces, criminal record checks, background checks,B次元官网网址� James said Tuesday as she released the latest B.C. financial reports.
B次元官网网址淭he municipalities have the bylaw and licensing piece. The other important piece here is there isnB次元官网网址檛 a profit right now to be able to share. Our costs are outweighing the revenue thatB次元官网网址檚 coming in.B次元官网网址�
BC Finance Minister says the province doesnB次元官网网址檛 yet have revenue to share with local governments
B次元官网网址� Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc)
B.C.B次元官网网址檚 revenues were lower than all other provinces but Prince Edward Island, and the number of stores has lagged behind Alberta. One issue is the size of the entrenched illegal market in B.C., which historically has produced half of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 output.
Alberta now has more than 270 licensed cannabis retailers, while B.C. has issued licences for just over 60. James said legalization last fall coincided with B.C. municipal elections, so their licensing and zoning were delayed.
B次元官网网址淧art of it may be B.C.B次元官网网址檚 long history of an illegal market, and people moving to a legal market from an illegal market they have lived with for a great number of years,B次元官网网址� James said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 a shift that may take some time.B次元官网网址�
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B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth has been traveling the province to meet with B次元官网网址渃raft cannabisB次元官网网址� producers who want to be legal, but police need assurances that they are not linked to organized crime groups that have long operated in B.C.
The provinceB次元官网网址檚 new community safety unit has begun moving in to shut down unlicensed cannabis dispensaries, which proliferated in B.C. over the years as quasi-medical operations.
James said the next phase of federal legalization, the approval of cannabis edibles, should change the business picture in B.C.
B次元官网网址淭here may be some shifts as you look to edibles this coming spring,B次元官网网址� James said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 the next step in legalization but weB次元官网网址檙e continuing our work on that piece with UBCM.B次元官网网址�
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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