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This article was published 8/9/2017 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canada's most populous province has announced a plan to sell legal marijuana through a publicly-owned system, which is music to the ears of the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union.

MGEU president Michelle Gawronsky said she hopes Ontario's plan to sell cannabis separately from alcohol in publicly-owned, stand-alone stores will set an example for Manitoba. A public sales model operated by Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation would be the best possible option from a public health and safety perspective, she argued.

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"The MLLC has a proven track record for selling a controlled substance, and the training that they put in for their employees to be able to sell it and be socially responsible for it is absolutely the best there is across Canada," said Gawronsky.

"I have no doubt in my mind that our members, the MLLC's employees, would be the best ones to be able to sell this."

A December 2016 Probe Research poll commissioned by MGEU found that 65 per cent of Manitobans surveyed felt legal cannabis should be "sold in stores owned and managed by government, similar to Liquor Marts," while 23 per cent said it should be sold in private stores. Likely cannabis users, however, were less likely to favour government-owned stores (55 per cent) and more likely to call for private stores (34 per cent).

The Pallister government has not yet indicated how cannabis will be sold in Manitoba after federal legalization, which is set to go into effect by July 1, 2018.

"All options are on the table at this point," said Minister of Justice Heather Stefanson on Friday, adding that the government had received many responses to an expression of interest for producing, distributing, and retailing legal cannabis in Manitoba.

"We'll continue to work with stakeholders in the community to develop a system that works best for Manitobans," said Stefanson.

MLA Andrew Swan, justice critic with the opposition NDP, said selling cannabis through a crown corporation "makes sense."

"That's the best for social responsibility. It's the best to ensure widespread distribution, but also making sure that it stays out of the hands of minors."

Ontario's proposed plan, announced Friday morning, would hand responsibility for provincial distribution of recreational cannabis to the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. The Crown corporation plans to open a series of new stores dedicated solely to cannabis, in addition to operating an online distribution system which would deliver marijuana province-wide by mail. The entire system would be supplied with cannabis grown by licensed producers regulated by Health Canada.

About 40 retail locations should be open in time for legalization next summer, according to Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa, with plans to have 80 stores open by the end of 2018 and approximately 150 by 2020. Products will only be available from staff behind a counter, with no self-serve option for customers. Store locations will be determined in consultation with local municipalities.

The minimum age for legal purchase and consumption of marijuana in Ontario will be 19, slightly higher than the minimum age of 18 set out in the federal government's Cannabis Act. Recreational consumption in Ontario will be probhited in all public spaces and workplaces, limiting cannabis users in the province to private residences. The province will consider the possibility of licensed venues to consume cannabis in the future, said Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvi.

The government of Ontario also said it will crack down on the illicit marijuana dispensaries that have proliferated in some cities across the province. Some dispensary advocates argue that provincial governments should be welcoming those businesses into the upcoming legal regime, in order to encourage cannabis users to buy their cannabis from legal sources and achieve the federal government's stated goal of quashing black market sales of marijuana.

"Dispensaries are the chosen distribution vehicle in almost every jurisdiction that has a legal cannabis regime," said Jeremy Jacob, president of the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries. "People want the human connection in general, they want the ability to learn, to understand, to feel cared for, to feel like someone's actually interested in what they're doing."

Private dispensaries, believes Jacob, are also a better economic choice than publicly-owned stores.

"I think that nurturing a strong economy of private companies like you see in Colorado is going to be better for local economies, it's going to be better for individuals, for business," he said.

Dana Larsen, director of the Vancouver Dispensary Society, doesn't rule out publicy-owned cannabis stores as a potentially effective retail option. Still, he believes Ontario's tightly-controlled approach to retailing will fail to compete effectively with existing black market options.

"There's only one way to shut down the black market and close dispensaries, and that's to make legal cannabis cheaper, higher quality, and more widely available than dispensaries can," he said.

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca

@sol_israel