Canopy Growth will grow 12,000 kilograms of cannabis annually on the White Hills in the east end of St. John’s come next summer.
On a wet and windy spring day on Monday, company officials and a couple of members of the House of Assembly held a sod-turning ceremony on the site of the planned $55-million, 150,000-square-foot production facility.
“It’ll be one of our larger locations as far as indoor grow is concerned,” says Jeff Ryan, Canopy’s vice-president of government and stakeholder relations. “It’ll be the largest in Atlantic Canada.”
Ryan says construction is expected to begin in June, even though the project was only submitted to the province’s Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment on May 4 and the minister’s decision isn’t due until June 18.
Registration documents suggest 164 full-time positions during the construction phase, and 145 full-time permanent jobs once the facility is operational.
Of the 12,000 kilograms produced there, 8,000 kilograms will stay in the province and will be sold through retailers licensed by the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corp. (NLC).
As part of its supplier agreement with the province, Canopy will have four licensed retail shops which will be located at the production facility at 60 Eastland Dr.; at 193 Kenmount Rd.; at 183 Water St.; and at 62 Broadway St. in Corner Brook.
Ryan says Canopy will employ about 60 people at the already approved retail locations, and the company is holding a job fair June 2 and 3 at Rocket Bakery on Water Street between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
“The retail locations will not only be locations that will sell cannabis, but also will be an education hub where we can educate consumers around how to consume cannabis responsibly,” says Ryan, noting the first four stores will be ready to go once legalization comes into effect, offering a supply of cannabis products from existing production facilities throughout Canada.
The company also had two applications make it through the first round of the NLC’s licensed cannabis retailer request for proposals that went out in February. Those stores are proposed for 50 Commonwealth Ave. in Mount Pearl and 81 Conception Bay Highway in C.B.S.
Prices for cannabis products, however, remain a mystery, which even Ryan admits is going to be “a big determinant in who is and who isn’t successful in the marketplace.”
“We’re working with the NLC on what the final price to the consumer will be, but they will remain competitive and there’ll be a broad spectrum of products that we’ll have available,” he said. “The portfolio will be quite vast, but pricing is something that we’re working on right now to make sure prices are competitive so that we can maximize the amount of cannabis that we sell.”
The products include flowered cannabis, cannabis oil and cannabis seeds.
Whether or not Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will be able to use those seeds to grow the federally allotted four plants for personal use is an issue the provincial government has yet to explore.
“While the federal government’s proposed legislation allows for individuals to cultivate up to four legal cannabis plants per residence, provinces, territories or municipalities may choose to place further restrictions on personal cultivation,” a representative from the provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation wrote in an emailed statement.
“The provincial government has not made a final decision yet on personal cultivation, but it will be addressed in provincial legislation that is expected to be introduced in the House of Assembly this spring.”
Canopy will operate with the same 8 per cent commission that other licensed cannabis retailers will receive, but as part of its contract with the province, a specific amount of every sale — 10 per cent at a company store, five per cent of an online sale and three per cent of another licensed retailer — will remain in the company’s coffers instead of going to NLC, as a means to offset the construction costs of the new facility, up to a maximum of $40 million.
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