The provincial government has leaked its pot plan to the news media and it’s clear to see why Justice Minister Andrew Parsons has been regurgitating the words that pot will not be a cash cow for Newfoundland and Labrador; that’s because pot will be a cash cow for somebody else!
That’s right, Newfoundland and Labrador will not reap the rewards of legalized pot. Those rewards will go to a select few investors who back the pot stores. The province had a chance to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue by selling pot exclusively. From this revenue they could have reduced the personal and business tax burden by helping to pay for hospitals, schools, roads and the ferries that the government had built in Romania. (Yes, the provincial government actually had ferries built in Romania).
According to a news article, the provincial government’s excuse is that it doesn’t want to take on the risk of renting space and hiring staff to run pot stores; we all know how hard it is to make money selling pot. Therefore, instead of well-paying, full-time government jobs with pensions and benefits, employees can look forward to minimum-wage, part-time jobs without pensions and benefits, all thanks to the provincial government.
We’ll have to say goodbye to the hundreds of millions of dollars in pot revenues and say hello to a few wealthier investors instead. Cash cows are not for us, but for a select few who have the government’s ear (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
Terry Strang
St. John’s
