Legal cannabis retailers facing supply shortfall NEWS 5
Friday, October 19, 2018 | Your community newspaper since nce 1916
Condo project forces temporary restaurant closure Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca A downtown business will be closing its doors until the Park House condominium project has been completed, but will still be doing business by other means. Ohh Chocolat Café will make the move at the end of this month. “Although the walk-in side of the café will be temporarily closed, we plan on having our chocolates distributed through some of our favourite local merchants – including Serengeti and Northern Lights Estate Winery,” general manager Wendy Giannisis said in an email. The space at 565 George St. will remain available to book for gatherings of up to 50 people. And Giannisis and partners Rodney Mansbridge and Caroline and John Longhurst will also continue to run Sweet Sassy Savoury Catering Company out of the location. “It is with sadness that we have come to this decision based on circumstance beyond our control, but at the same time are excited about restructuring and moving forward,” Giannisis said. Downtown Prince George executive director Colleen Van Mook had a mixed reaction. “We’re sorry that the business needs to temporarily close but we’re thrilled that they’re saying that during the time they’re going to close they’re planning an exciting relaunch,” Van Mook said. As for the project, she said it will make a positive contribution once completed. “Having a condominium complex and people living downtown is always what this organization has been excited about,” Van Mook said. Shoppers and diners should continue to patronize the downtown, she added. “For any construction project comes some inconveniences and this one is a big one,”
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
Ohh Chocolat Café will be temporarily closing due to the construction near it. Van Mook said. “People might have to look a little bit harder for parking spots but we’ve still got great downtown businesses that we need to continue to support so that they thrive through the changes.” To be made up of 153 units of one- and
two-bedroom housing in four separate buildings, developers behind Park House expect to see the first residents move in during the summer of 2020. But some parts of the area have been closed to traffic for the time being, notably
Seventh Avenue in front of the cenotaph at city hall, and Patricia Boulevard from the intersection with Queensway to the entrance of city hall. And George Street between Seventh and Patricia has been closed permanently.
Proportional representation signs Will B.C.’s weed prices be low enough to beat the black market? violating city bylaw removed How much of a dent British Columbia’s legal sales of recreational cannabis will make in the black market for weed remains an open question while the province keeps retail pricing under wraps. Based on the information B.C.’s Liquor Distribution Branch has made available on wholesale pricing, however, operators in the legal market may find it tough to take market share from illicit dealers. “(A lot) depends on how fast and how accessible a system is created for the legal market,” said Dana Larsen, who operates two illegal dispensaries that he plans to keep open in defiance of the new, legal system. Statistics Canada now tracks consumer cannabis prices through a voluntary reporting mechanism. Based on its report, in 2017, British Columbians paid $7.63 per gram on average for medicinal cannabis and $6.94 for non-medical weed.
“It’s very rare to see something more than $10 (per gram),” Larsen said, in a market where prices can start at $5 per gram. “If it is, it’s something very special and different.” The BCLDB, however, will make cannabis available to B.C.’s retail network at prices ranging from $5-$6 per gram for “good” quality to $10-$11 for “premium” quality, according to the schedule published on its website. “It sounds to me like it’s going to be very expensive cannabis,” Larsen said. At $5 per gram, which will include excise tax and a 15-percent wholesale markup, Larsen said legal retailers will have room to set more competitive prices, but that will depend on how much the requirements of licensing add to their overhead. The province’s licensing guide spells out requirements ranging from high security to specialized training, background checks and registration of employees that add to a retailer’s overhead. — see ‘THE PRIMARY, page 3
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Citizen staff Local supports of proportional representation scrambled to take down campaign signs after learning they have been placed in spots that contravene a city bylaw. Campaigner Jay Sanders said he thought the bylaw applied only to municipal elections. “But I see that the bylaw does cover provincial matters,” he said Thursday in an email to The Citizen. “The team and I will be moving the signs today.” The purple and white signs urging people to vote in favour of proportional representation have been found in such locations as the lawn where Third Avenueue splits off from Fifth and at several spots outside the designated areas along Foothills Boulevard. Signs are allowed on 14 spots around the city and along Highways 16 and 97 within city limits because those are provincial roads: Austin Road East at Highway 97; Foothills Boulevard and Austin Road; Foothills Boulevard and North Nechako Road; Foot-
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CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
A pro-proportional representation sign is seen on the corner of University Way and Foothills Boulevard. hills Boulevard and First Avenue; Foothills Boulevard and 15th Avenue; Ospika Boulevard and 15th Avenue; Queensway and Patricia Boulevard; Ospika Boulevard and 22nd Avenue; Queensway and Village Avenue; University Way and
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Ceremonial Road; Ferry Avenue at Highway 16; Ferry Avenue and Clapperton Street; and Tyner Boulevard at Highway 16. Voters are to receive their mail-in ballots for the referendum between Oct. 22 and Nov. 2.
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