Cannabis Industry Update: October 25, 2023
Dear ABLE BC Members and Industry Colleagues,
Here’s what you’ll find in today’s update:
Canada celebrates five years of legal cannabis
Reminder of Recent Developments
New member feature: KushKlub
BC’s new Pay Transparency Act comes into force
Brand New Due Diligence Templates for ABLE BC Members
go2HR on Tap: Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace – Starting the Conversation
Help our advocacy! Join ABLE BC today.
Find all past updates here.
Canada celebrates five years of legal cannabis
Five years. Has it already been five years? Also, has it only been five years?
That duality sums up a common perspective as we celebrate Canada’s fifth anniversary of legal cannabis: that we’ve made tremendous progress to date, and yet still have a long way to go. Here at ABLE BC, we are working steadily to reduce and remove regulatory barriers that are hindering your success.
The good news is that the legal market is growing. In 2020, nearly $300 million of cannabis products were sold in BC. This number increased $550 million for 2021 and over $670 million in 2022. By 2024, BC’s legal cannabis sales are projected to exceed $1 billion.
Much of this year-over-year sales growth is a result of our industry’s ability to pivot and overcome challenges. It is also a result of steady, consistent advocacy to improve the rules and regulations governing our industry. Things like cheaper licensing fees, more local governments saying yes to cannabis retail, permitting e-commerce orders and home delivery, new classes of products, removing unnecessary rules like non-transparent windows, more public education, and a greater understanding of how government and industry can work together to encourage more consumers to abandon the illicit market and shop legal.
In the early days of legalisation, municipalities such as Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Moody, City of Langley (to name a few) were slow to create the necessary regulations and zoning for legal cannabis retail stores. Combined with licensing delays at the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB), many retailers had to wait months or even years before being permitted to open. While places like Richmond and Surrey have yet to legalize, we are pleased that most British Columbians now have access to safe, legal cannabis in their local communities. In total, BC now has 487 privately-run legal cannabis retail stores.
Many of you have noted that municipal businesses license fees continue to be far too high, and dramatically out of proportion to similar businesses. While the City of Vancouver has reduced licensing fees from a high of over $30,000 to about $5000 today, that is still over 10 times the cost of a business license for a liquor retailer store. Reducing these fees would be a big help to retailers struggling to make ends meet in a highly competitive market. Expect to hear more about our work in this area in the months ahead.
Federally, the Government of Canada has appointed an independent panel of experts to review how the federal Cannabis Act has impacted various aspects of Canadian society, public health, and safety. Their What We Heard report report summarizes the evidence, opinions, and perspectives that has been gathered to date from different industry stakeholders. For BC retailers, Chapter 11 of the report highlights some concerns that are in line with what ABLE BC has heard from our members, such as: raising THC limits, relieving high costs of taxation, increasing access in rural and remote areas, and loosening promotional restrictions to improve awareness of the legal market. All of which are key factors to supporting our industry’s ability to compete with the illicit market.
As ABLE BC works to support BC’s cannabis retailers, these diverse perspectives will help inform our own advocacy priorities with the LDB, LCRB, as well as our municipal, provincial, and federal government partners. We have a lot of work to do, and every reason to believe that the next five years will be the best yet for Canada’s growing cannabis industry.
Reminder of Recent Developments
As our municipal, provincial, and federal government partners continue to update cannabis industry policies, ABLE BC gives you a seat at the table with government decision-makers.
The provincial government is currently considering whether to permit cannabis consumption spaces in BC. According to the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety’s 2022 What We Heard report—where over 16,000 British Columbians were surveyed—most industry-affiliated respondents supported the idea of cannabis consumption spaces. The report also concluded there may be at least 750,000 people in the province who would be interested in visiting a cannabis consumption space at least once. While we await further news from government, many retailers hope this could lead to new opportunities to sell and promote cannabis products responsibly.
Just last month, the LCRB announced that federally licensed producers can now provide cannabis samples to licensed retailers. This change was in direct response to industry feedback. Not only will this LPs to further promote their products, but it will also allow retailers to transfer their product knowledge along to their patrons. To be clear, retailers are still not permitted to give samples to adult consumers.
New member feature: KushKlub
We are thrilled to announce KushKlub as a new member of ABLE BC!
Located in East Van on Commercial Drive, this legacy store was one of the first movers within the neighbourhood to successfully transition into the legal cannabis retail space and is one of the first Black Woman Owned cannabis stores in Canada.
KushKlub’s passionate approach to both people and product is what defines their organic following. Much of their success story in the industry is attributed to both being advocate members of their local community and as well as building deep connections to their neighbourhood.
We look forward to welcoming KushKlub and their years of expertise! Be sure to say hello :)
BC’s new Pay Transparency Act comes into force
Beginning November 1, 2023, BC employers are required to include expected pay or pay range in job postings.
BC’s Pay Transparency Act was passed on May 11, 2023. This act places new requirements on employers to help address systemic discrimination in the workplace.
All people deserve to be paid fairly and our communities are stronger when everyone is treated equally. However, too many women in BC are still making less than men. Last year, women in BC earned 17 per cent less than men. The pay gap also disproportionately impacts Indigenous women, women of colour, and immigrant women, as well as women with disabilities and non-binary people.
Click here for more information.
Brand New Due Diligence Templates for ABLE BC Members
Visit the Member Portal to access brand new policy templates to ensure your cannabis retail store is duly diligent.
We understand the unique challenges and responsibilities of ensuring responsible cannabis sales. To support you, we partnered with Associate Member Thrive Advisors to create new templates to help you develop comprehensive and stringent house policies that prioritize due diligence. These templates cover a range of topics, including age verification procedures, staff training, customer interactions, and compliance with LCRB regulations.
Implementing these policies will protect your business from legal liability and contribute to the responsible sale and service of alcohol and cannabis.
Templates are available free to all ABLE BC members. Not a member yet? Click here to sign up now!
go2HR on Tap: Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace – Starting the Conversation
Just like physical health, we all have mental health. Mental health is a state of well-being that includes our thoughts and emotions. Our mental health can affect our ability to solve problems and overcome difficulties, our social connections, how we “show up” at work, and even our physical feelings. Anyone can experience mental health challenges (e.g. a very stressful week) or a diagnosable mental illness (e.g. depression).
Employers, managers, and employees all play an important part in contributing to a workplace that supports positive mental health and wellness for all.
To learn more, watch go2HR’s Mental Health Awareness, a Safety Talk for Tourism. This 5-minute video and accompanying handout introduces the topic of mental health awareness in the workplace: what it is, why it matters, risks to mental health at work, and provides practical tips to help support wellness in the workplace.
Share it with your employees today!
If you have any questions or would like more information, support or resources to help support mental health awareness for your employees, please feel free to contact Valerie Lister, go2HR Workplace Psychological Health & Safety (PH&S) Coach, at no cost.
Questions? Reach out to go2HR's HR Consultants for free advice at hr@go2HR.ca . go2HR is the Human Resources and Health and Safety Association for BC’s tourism and hospitality industry.