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Aphria said it’s looking for potential employees with excellent attendance who are team-oriented, have a positive attitude and “great work ethic.”

Photo by Dax Melmer / Windsor Star

Following several challenging months, during which the company faced insider buying allegations and a hostile takeover bid, Aphria announced earlier in March that Health Canada had approved an amendment to its growing licence that permits the pot producer to more than triple the current capacity at its main Aphria One operation. With a new multimillion-dollar state-of-the-art facility already built in anticipation of federal approval, total pot production is expected to increase by 80,000 kilograms a year to a total of 110,000 kg annually at Aphria One.

The significant boost to projected production by Aphria comes at a time when Ontario and other provinces are clamouring for more pot to satisfy an unmet market demand since Canada legalized recreational cannabis for adults last October. Legalization was intended to tackle the black market, but the new government-run supply chains have been challenged trying to keep up with that demand.

Aphria’s Leamington workforce currently stands at approximately 500 people. Experience required for the different openings “varies significantly,” said a company spokesman, but while greenhouse experience is an asset, some of the job openings, for example greenhouse associates, require no previous experience. Some of the lower end jobs are minimum wage to start.

Out-of-town employee transportation is currently not offered, but a company spokesman said a number of workers carpool daily from Windsor to Leamington. Aphria has consulted with Workforce WindsorEssex on the impact of not having public transportation to Leamington, the spokesman said, adding the company welcomes recent news about a new Leamington-Windsor bus service to start by late summer.

dschmidt@postmedia.com

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Photo by Dax Melmer / Windsor Star

Photo by Dax Melmer / Windsor Star