Finance minister Ernie Steeves (courtesy GNB YouTube)
The Progressive Conservative government has decided to privatize the sale of recreational cannabis in New Brunswick.
The province has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to find a single operator in the private sector to take over the 20 Cannabis NB stores.
Finance minister Ernie Steeves says the province should never have been involved in selling cannabis.
“Government shouldn’t be in the business of business. We should be in the business of regulating. We’ve proven that we can’t run … you can’t run a business the same way as you run government. In government it takes so long to make a decision because we have the duty to consult of course,” he says.
Steeves believes Cannabis NB has failed because prices have been too high, store leases are too expensive and he adds Health Canada has made cannabis difficult to sell with strict regulations.
The request for proposals (RFP) will remain open until January 10 with a formal announcement on a new operator expected by next spring.
A transition to the new private model could happen by next fall.
Cannabis NB currently employs about 250 people and the province says a private operator is under no obligation to hire them.
On Thursday afternoon, the CEO of Cannabis NB, Patrick Parent, offered a statement following word the provincial government had decided to privatize the sale of recreational cannabis.
“The recent announcement and process regarding the future sale and distribution of cannabis in New Brunswick rests with the provincial government. At Cannabis NB, we intend to remain clearly focused on improving prices and lowering costs.
We have clearly stated on numerous occasions that we must offer more competitive products, we couldn’t agree more on this point. In the two months since I joined the ANBL/CNB team, I have sent a clear message to our organization that we have to build on our progress in competing on price and availability. Cannabis NB’s great team has risen to this challenge by negotiating lower prices with producers – products competitive with the illegal market have been available in our stores for a few weeks now and I can assure our customers that the team will continue to compete.
We will continue to make consumers aware of our offers, albeit within the very restrictive regulatory framework around advertising. We will continue to offer an exceptional educational in-store and online experience fully respecting the federal and provincial laws governing the cannabis industry. Furthermore, I want to reassure our customers that we will work diligently to offer a selection of legal edible cannabis products in the coming months.
Until such time as the retail model changes, Cannabis NB will manage all aspects of its operations in order to provide the best value to its customers and its shareholders.”
An email including this statement also said that Cannabis NB has no further comment at this time and to reach out to the province for more information.
