Following shortly on the heels of the official opening of Candre’s cannabis production facility, the company recently received three crucial Health Canada licences required to start cultivating.
“We’re definitely in go-mode as we speak,” said Jesse Beaudry, president and CEO, on Tuesday, July 30 during a phone interview from the administrative office portion of the new facility.
“Cannabis is present on site.”
Calgary-based Candre received on Friday, July 26 its standard cultivation, standard processing as well as medical sales licences, said Beaudry, adding the company can now not only begin growing test crops for a recreational licence but also extract oil from cannabis flowers for sprays and provide product for the medical market.
“It’s opened up a tremendous amount of options for us,” he said, adding Candre can, as per Canada’s Cannabis Act, also sell to — or purchase from — other licensed producers.
But before being able to begin recreational cannabis sales, Candre still needs to successfully complete two test crops. Regardless, the company intends to begin growing right away, he said.
“We already have the flexibility to do what we want to do.”
Additionally, the company was able to capitalize on regulatory changes Health Canada introduced last year in recognition of supply shortages on the market. Although producers that at the time were already licensed were not eligible, newer companies still awaiting approval were extended an opportunity to declare with Health Canada a list of non-traditional seeds or starter material, he said.
That approach will help convert black market product into legal product, and enabled Candre to bring in 141 different strains, many of which are new to Canada’s legal market, and the vast majority of which are not currently being offered by other licensed producers, he said.
“The market is looking forward to having more diversity.”
As of this week, Candre was preparing a propagation room in anticipation of transferring seeds to begin the company’s first growing cycle. That means gone are the days of easily accommodating tours of the facility, and that full security measures are in place, he said.
Whether later this year or early the next, Beaudry expects Candre will eventually receive a recreational sales licence, but he expressed no desire to rush the process.
“We don’t need it today.”
While growing a couple of crops does not necessarily take very long, a precise timeline for the robust review and audit process — which involves third-party analytics and site visits by Health Canada officials — is unpredictable, he said.
“Health Canada would like to see two compliant crops,” he said, adding that if the federal regulatory body does not feel Candre’s product initially makes the grade, the company will continue to grow until these requirements are met.
“If Health Canada isn’t happy, there might be three test crops — as it should be.”
Once those regulatory requirements are met, the company will be issued a licence that allows the sale of Candre-branded products to retail stores, he said, adding that will take however long Health Canada needs to ensure its product is safe and compliant. But in the meantime, the approval of the three other licences has officially granted the green light to begin cultivating.
“Our growers are ready to put product in the propagation room,” he said.
“We are 100 per cent ready.”
Efforts to find new staff also remain ongoing, he said, adding several positions have recently been filled with more interviews still lined up.
A year from now, Beaudry anticipates Candre will have not only all of its licences in hand along with a fully staffed facility, but also a significant number of additional growing rooms.
Furthermore, the potential to expand the facility’s footprint remains “near and dear to our hearts,” he said, adding the goal was to first successfully complete the first phase.
“What we’ve said we would do, we’ve done.”
Until the licences to start cultivating were approved, Beaudry said talking about expanding was premature.
“We have to walk before we run,” he said, adding the next challenge will be to expand, which will in turn require ramping up efforts to hire the right people.
Although the state-of-the-art facility is now technically fully operational and ready to grow, the structure’s exterior cladding remains incomplete, but work was expected to be underway this week, he said.
Reaching this point would not have been possible without Sundre’s support, he said, referring not only to the municipality but also the community and local businesses.
“It has been a group effort,” he said.
Many local contractors, regardless of their trade, have been there on weekends and evenings putting in the hours to get the job done, he said.
“Everybody opened their doors and started with ‘what do you need?’” he said.
“Without them, this would have certainly taken longer.”
And although work is important, so is recognizing the effort everyone has invested in making possible the company’s success, he said, anticipating spending more time in Sundre with his staff on a patio in local establishments to celebrate what they’ve accomplished.
“Frankly, we prefer it here; it’s more fun!”
