Ontario pot will be “competitively priced” to discourage black market sales, Finance Minister Charles Sousa says.

When asked about reports that other jurisdictions in Canada are looking at a retail sales price of about $10 a gram, Sousa refused to dismiss the figure.

“The intent is to have some uniformity over these prices across Canada as well as trying to maintain the price point with regards to the medicinal marijuana that’s there now, and to ensure that it’s not overly expensive because of the underground economy that now exists,” Sousa said Wednesday. “So we have to be sensitive to that and we’re working with the federal government in terms of what markups are going to be there and what uniformity and harmonization we can establish to ensure that we keep a price point that keeps away the black market.”

Ontario has been pushing up taxes on cigarettes for years as a strategy to discourage smoking.

But while the percentage of smokers is generally on the decline, the contraband tobacco market has flourished.

Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown said the price of recreational marijuana has to be competitive to discourage black market purchases.

“I do think that is a goal that the province of Ontario should have to diminish the black market,” Brown said. “Where there’s a large discrepancy in price, naturally the black market will succeed.”

Brown said he’s disappointed that the provincial government moved ahead with its marijuana plans — including the announcement of a LCBO-affiliated pot agency — before hearing fully from those still raising concerns about the legalization plan.

“Just last week, while the government’s rushing out their framework as a distraction to the two Liberal political corruption trials, a lot of these details still remained unanswered,” Brown said. “The police have raised legitimate concerns on resources, on training and equipment, on how we’re going to deal with the black market.”

Sousa said his government is working closely with Ottawa as the July 2018 legalization deadline approaches.

aartuso@postmedia.com