It’s no April Fool’s joke — some of the 25 privately owned cannabis stores originally slated to open next Monday in Ontario will not be ready.

The licensing process through the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and a continuing national marijuana shortage could keep some shops closed, Finance Minister Vic Fedeli says.

“We will have stores open April 1 and I know that the AGCO is continuing to work to make sure that the 25 that have been approved get their stores open in a timely manner,” he told reporters Monday.

“We’ll wait and see on April 1 how many open.”

The agency’s website shows just 10 locations across the province had received authorizations for their stores as of late Monday afternoon as they await further and final approvals. With seven days to go, no stores are cleared to open as they await final inspections to ensure they meet all legal and regulatory requirements, said AGCO spokesman Raymond Kahnert.

“It is difficult to predict how many stores in Ontario will be ready to open right as of April 1,” Kahnert added in an emailed statement.

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“The AGCO had had a team eligibility and compliance officials working with each applicant in the most expeditious way ... our primary focus is on safeguarding the public interest and ensuring the integrity of Ontario’s cannabis retail system.”

One certain to be delayed is Tokyo Smoke, which will be located in HMV’s former flagship store at 333 Yonge St. in Toronto. Its public consultation period does not wrap up until April 2 and it’s impossible to predict how long clearance will take.

“Each applicant goes through a process of eligibility and due diligence that varies, case by case,” said Kahnert.

Tokyo Smoke is operated by Canopy Growth Corp., one of the country’s biggest recreational and medicinal marijuana producers. It also operates cannabis stores in Manitoba and coffee shops in Toronto.

The company was one of 25 potential operators chosen by lottery in January through the AGCO, giving them the chance to apply to cannabis store licences. There were 16,905 applicants hoping to cash in the country’s legalized pot bonanza.

Opposition parties said any snags in opening the first round of brick-and-mortar stores on time will fuel the illegal black market that the federal legalization of recreational cannabis last October was supposed to quell.

“The government has botched the rollout,” said New Democrat deputy leader Sara Singh.

“It’s really unfortunate that we’re not going to be ready for that April 1 deadline. I think we’re going to have fewer than 25 stores opening up, which is less than what the Liberals actually proposed with 40 stores.”

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The previous Liberal government had planned to open 40 publicly operated shops late last October, but Premier Doug Ford scrapped that plan in favour of a private-sector model.

“It’s somewhat ironic,” said Liberal MPP Nathalie Des Rosiers (Ottawa-Vanier). “I think eventually it will sort itself out. We always knew there was going to be a supply issue.”

Fedeli announced the change in plans from government-run stores on Aug. 13, acknowledging the move as a “significant departure” but emphasizing it would relieve taxpayers of the upfront costs of building shops and open new opportunities for small business.

Five other provinces — British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador — allow private stores to sell recreational cannabis.

Green Leader Mike Schreiner said the shortage of marijuana supply can be blamed on Ottawa, while Queen’s Park is at fault for not handling the private store arrangements and licensing more quickly.

“The federal government and the provincial government need to share in some responsibility here,” Schreiner said.

Fedeli said adult cannabis users still have the option of going to the Ontario Cannabis Store online to get their marijuana products delivered as the province works to smooth any wrinkles in its “first foray into private retail cannabis.”

“There was prohibition for a hundred years and we’re going to be in this business for a long, long time so I’d rather than we make sure that we just get it right rather than rush in,” he said. “It’s the safety of our children, it’s the safety of our roads and it’s making sure that we put the illegal shops out of business.”

Some pot shops elsewhere in Canada are not opening some days of the week because of the marijuana shortage, he added.

The finance minister noted there is an incentive for stores to start operating as quickly as possible after April 1 to avoid fines that can reach $50,000 for tardy openings.

Aside from Toronto, the first stores will be in Brampton, Burlington, Hamilton, Oshawa, Ajax, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, London, Kingston, Sudbury and Ottawa.

Clarification - April 3, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version to include Newfoundland and Labrador to the list of provinces that allow private stores to sell recreational cannabis.