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At issue is who gets to open a cannabis store at the busy Cowichan Commons shopping plaza across the highway from the province’s popular Forest Discovery Centre just north of Duncan.

Both Cowichan Tribes (through a partnership venture called Costa Canna) and the government’s cannabis branch have applied to the District of North Cowichan.

But without a security check and licence from the province, the district can’t hear Costa Canna’s application. The situation was inflamed further in April when the government’s cannabis branch wrote a letter to the district requesting it move on from the Cowichan Tribes and focus solely on its application because another arm of the same government had yet to approve Costa Canna’s application.

“There’s a real big benefit for the province not to provide us with the licence until they have secured the Commons, and a huge conflict of interest as far as Cowichan Tribes is concerned,” said Jodee Dick, land manager at the tribe.

Cowichan Valley MLA Sonia Furstenau said she’s tried unsuccessfully to get answers from Solicitor General Mike Farnworth’s office, which controls licences. “I was quite alarmed and frustrated to hear they were experiencing these delays,” she said.

“Cowichan Tribes have demonstrated that they are responsible, successful business people and I would very much like to see them successful with this venture.”

Seymour already has security clearance from the province because he oversees the Cowichan Tribes’s successful casino. The nation is also certified by the First Nations Financial Management Board, has its own financial administration law and is the owner, operator and landlord of several commercial ventures and a shopping plaza.