Anyone interested in starting up a cannabis retail operation in the district or elsewhere in Alberta will face various fees and numerous other requirements, according to recently released government rules posted on the Alberta Gaming Liquor & Cannabis (AGLC) website.
While retail outlets will need to adhere to local municipal regulations, they will also need to meet applicant requirements laid out by the province.
To be considered for a retail licence, applicants must meet a number of conditions for their applications to be considered. Those include the following:
- A non-refundable application free of $400 and a licence fee of $700.
- An initial deposit of $3,000 must be provided with the completed application package.
- Particulars of all directors, shareholders, officers and the proposed manager.
- Details of the offer to lease if applicable.
The application must also include a floor plan and site plan, including a drawing that includes proposed camera placement and area of coverage, and a detailed site plan of surrounding businesses.
The AGLC may not issue a cannabis store licence in respect to premises located “in a municipality, unless a development permit has been issued under the Municipal Government Act for the proposed use of the premises as described in the application for the cannabis licence.”
Premises may not have any external wall within 100 metres of “a building containing a school or a boundary of a parcel of land on which the building is located” or “a boundary of a parcel of land that is designated as school reserve or municipal and school reserve under the Municipal Government Act.”
The rules also include a list of prohibited inducements for retail licencees and employees from cannabis representatives, including payment, rebates or credits of any monetary value, any cannabis products other than authorized cannabis product samples permitted under policy guidelines, or season's tickets to sporting or other events.
Inquiries will be made by the government to “determine if the applicant or any associated person has ever been charged with or convicted of, or is subject to pending charges for a criminal, regulatory, civil or other statutory offence.
“The applicant and all associated persons must provide full disclosure of all criminal and civil proceedings on the appropriate disclosures.
“The particulars of any offence or claim and the sentence or penalty imposed will be reviewed to determine whether a conviction or charge affects the applicant’s eligibility for licence/registration.”
To work in the retail cannabis industry a person must meet a number of criteria, including being recognized as a qualified cannabis worker (QCW).
To be a QCW, one must, among other things, complete the mandatory AGLC SellSafe cannabis staff training program certification online. The program starts this month.
They must also provide an unaltered criminal record check from the local police service dated within the previous three months (prior to application).
The AGLC does not regulate a number of factors under the responsibility of the municipality, including “the number of cannabis stores in the municipality, the location of stores and the space between stores, matters that involve retail competition, and community safety and property values.”
Area municipalities, including Mountain View County, have or are planning to introduce land use bylaw amendments and other changes to bring their respective jurisdictions into compliance with provincial and federal cannabis rules and regulations.
