Article content

Members at the 41st annual Alberta Union of Provincial Employees convention plan to vote Saturday on whether to support selling marijuana in publicly operated dispensaries, or if they would rather leave the issue to the private sector.

Photo by Claire Theobald / Postmedia

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or AUPE members to argue public vs. private marijuana distribution Saturday Back to video

AUPE members filled the hall at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton on Friday for the three-day conference, hearing year-end reports from 14 standing committees, reviewing financial records and voting on various issues including the annual budget.

Members voted late Friday to debate the issue of who should sell legal marijuana Saturday, as AUPE president Guy Smith predicted a lengthy discussion on the topic.

The federal government approved the legalization and regulated recreational use of marijuana across Canada beginning on July 1, 2018. Members of the AUPE are debating whether retail dispensaries should be publicly or privately owned.

Though the Alberta government is expected to conclude their consultations on the matter by Oct. 28, the AUPE has yet to take a formal position on the issue.

The AUPE is Alberta’s largest union, with more than 90,000 members employed by the provincial government in health care, education and local government agencies.

twitter.com/ClaireTheobald

ctheobald@postmedia.com