Assault at city pot store reinforces union’s safety demands

The sexual assault of a woman while she worked at a cannabis shop has reignited calls to bolster safety requirements at city pot shops, where some in the sector say employees are at risk.

Marie Buchan, secretary-treasurer of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 832, said she met with provincial officials and regulators to express their concerns about safety in November. Since then, little has changed.

“We are still concerned with the amount of theft and violence in all retail environments, but cannabis is a controlled substance and there needs to be stronger safety precautions in place for those workers, just like those at Liquor Marts across the province,” Buchan said.

The issue was highlighted Tuesday, when a man entered a cannabis store on the 100 block of Isabel Street around 7:15 p.m.

He waited for a customer to leave and locked the door behind them, isolating the lone female employee, city police said in a news release Wednesday.

“He then attended behind the counter and sexually assaulted the 24-year-old female employee. She pushed the man away and fled the store uninjured before contacting police,” the release said.

The man ran out with an unknown quantity of cannabis products before police arrived. Officers found the suspect on the 800 block of Main Street shortly before 1 a.m. and arrested him, police said.

A 33-year-old man has been charged with sexual assault, forcible confinement and theft under $5,000. He was wanted on a warrant for failing to comply with a probation order. Police said he was released on an undertaking.

The Free Press has confirmed the incident took place at Smoke City Cannabis at 129 Isabel St. Staff working at the store Wednesday declined to speak and deferred comment to the owner who did not respond to an email request.

It is the latest criminal incident to hit cannabis retail outlets in Winnipeg, and took place months after UFCW Local 832 released a survey that found widespread unease among store employees.

The union, which gathered responses from nearly 100 employees in Manitoba’s cannabis sector, found only eight per cent of store employees feel safe at all times.

Forty-eight per cent said they feel safe sometimes, 27 per cent reported feeling safe most of the time, 11 per cent said they rarely do and six per cent said they never feel safe.

Buchan said the union met with Justice Minister Matt Wiebe and the executive director of the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba in the fall. They asked the officials to consider five proposed safety improvements.

They want legislation that prohibits employers from having staff work alone, controlled-entry points, removal of window coverings, mandatory closing times and the requirement that stores install silent alarms.

Buchan said the union has not communicated with Wiebe since the meeting.

It followed up with the LGCA after sharing details “of one of the many workplace incidents that have occurred,” in cannabis stores, but the regulator said their concerns fall under the authority of Workplace Safety and Health.

The union plans to request a meeting with Labour Minister Malaya Marcelino to push the issue, Buchan said.

Asked for an update about the union’s legislation proposal, Wiebe said his government has taken several steps to boost safety in retail settings, including cannabis stores.

He pointed to the province’s $10-million business security rebate as one example.

He noted the province works with the regulator to ensure every pot retailer complies with the mandatory requirement to have a security plan.

“This is about ensuring that anybody that goes to work in Manitoba comes home at the end of their shift,” Wiebe said.

Adrienne Guillou, manager of Flint and Embers Cannabis, said she has the same safety concerns as the union, especially regarding the federal requirement that cannabis retailers cover exterior windows so passersby cannot see inside.

“When cannabis stores have window coverings… it is very easy for incidents like this to happen,” she said, adding the incident at another store sent a chill through her own workplace.

“I think that there are a lot of cannabis employees that deserve better, and they deserve to feel safe in their jobs.”

Guillou said her store requires staff to work in pairs. It is also protected by security guards and has an alarm system.

She does not think the industry needs to implement secure entrances such as those found at Liquor Marts, but she would like other retailers to introduce measures similar to her workplace.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca