Pallister says Manitoba private sector has role to play in cannabis legalization

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This article was published 06/11/2017 (2913 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says he wants “the best of both worlds” by including both private and public sectors in the handling of legalized marijuana.

Nevertheless, he was talking up the attractions of the private sector a lot more than the public Monday.

The premier will release details of the government’s request for proposals today. However, he repeated warnings Monday that gangs will not simply go away when cannabis becomes legal in Canada on July 1.

The illegal gangs want to keep supplying the product that’s been making them a lot of money, Pallister told reporters. “They know how to adapt. The competition isn’t going to go away.”

Meanwhile, Manitobans will today be “getting a pretty good percentile of the idea” the government has for handling legal pot, the premier said.

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries — the Crown corporation in charge of gambling and alcohol in the province — has said it filed an expression of interest in the production, distribution, and sale of pot, and public-sector unions support handling it publicly.

However, Pallister said he’s not impressed that Ontario handed legal cannabis over to an offshoot of its liquor control board.

“The public sector has things to offer,” he said. However, “The private sector is probably where you want to go if you want to take your family out to dinner, not a government cafeteria. We do have an indication there is a great deal of response from Manitoba companies, companies around the country.

“We have a vibrant private sector here in Manitoba” that can deliver a competitive product at a competitive price, he said. “We have to have a system that offers users a product that is safe.”

Legal pot must be a good product and kept out of the hands of minors, but offered at a low price to undercut gangs, Pallister said.

“If you have a high-priced product, people won’t buy it,” he said. “We have to offer a high-quality product to people who want to buy it, at a competitive price.”

Last week, Pallister revealed he’s told cabinet ministers and senior civil servants to declare any possible conflicts of interest they may have on legal pot, and recuse themselves from the process.

On Monday, Pallister wouldn’t say if anyone had done so because he was uncertain if he’d be breaching privacy rules.

Meanwhile, Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew said he’d like to see the age for buying legal pot set as high as possible.

“I’ve heard from medical professionals that age 25” would be ideal, said Kinew. “A higher age of majority makes sense on cannabis.”

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca