Pubdate: Sat, 04 Nov 2017
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2017 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/send_a_letter
Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author: Nick Martin
Page: A3

LIQUOR AND LOTTERIES WANTS TO HANDLE MARIJUANA INDUSTRY

MANITOBA Liquor and Lotteries (MLL) wants to handle all angles of
legal pot in Manitoba - everything including production, distribution
and sales.

The Crown corporation said Friday that it submitted an expression of
interest to the government of Premier Brian Pallister in September.

Pallister will issue a request for proposals Tuesday, setting out for
anyone interested in getting a piece of the action in the legal pot
business, where the government wants to go when cannabis becomes legal
July 1.

MLL declined Friday to elaborate or provide any further
detail.

"Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries submitted an expression of interest for
all or part of production, distribution, and retail of cannabis in
Manitoba to the province in early September, and is expecting that the
results of that process will be announced soon," corporate affairs
director Andrea Kowal said Friday.

"All we can confirm is that we submitted an expression of interest in
the fall," she said. "The province has not released or published
anything yet as a result.

"It would be premature to provide any other comment."

The Manitoba Government and General Employees Union has been a strong
advocate for handling legalized pot through the public sector.

Ontario is handling pot sales through its Liquor Control Board of
Ontario (LCBO).

The Toronto Star reported Friday that the LCBO-run Ontario Cannabis
Retail Corporation has just announced that 14 municipalities will have
40 stores in the first wave of legal pot locations, with more to
follow. New Brunswick has said it will create a new Crown corporation
for cannabis.

British Columbia has said its existing dispensaries of medical
marijuana could be involved in its plan, which, like Alberta's, is
still to come.

The Saskatchewan government website says cabinet will announce its
plan sometime this winter. Quebec media outlets are reporting the
provincial government will also go the public sector route. Like
Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and
Labrador are weighing feedback from public consultation.
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MAP posted-by: Matt