The Ontario government has affirmed their plan to invest $31 million over the next three years to take on illegal cannabis stores.
As part of Ontario’s 2024 economic and fiscal outlook in brief, the provincial government is committing to investing $31 million over the next three years to support the Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Teams (PJFCET). This OPP-led centralized enforcement unit focuses on the cannabis file.
This investment, says the government, would enable the PJFCET to “respond to the challenge of illegal online operators and crack down further on the production, sale and distribution of illegal cannabis in the online and offline space.”
The new economic and fiscal outlook in brief is an affirmation of the province’s previous 2024 budget, which had referenced the $31 million commitment.
Earlier this year, Toronto City Council passed a motion asking the province to undertake a comprehensive review of the Provincial Cannabis Control Act, 2017. The motion says a review is “imperative to ensure the effective regulations and enforcement of cannabis-related matters” in Ontario.
Municipalities need more tools and resources to address these illegal cannabis businesses, the motion read, including “exploring options to strengthen enforcement measures, increase penalties for non-compliance, and improve collaboration between municipalities and provincial authorities.”
The illicit market in Ontario has been growing considerably in the past year, and many retailers and other cannabis industry participants have been calling on the province to do more. By some estimates, several hundred new, unlicensed retailers have begun operating in different parts of Ontario in the past year, with close to 100 in Toronto alone. While some have faced enforcement, many have not, causing frustration for licensed retailers who incur numerous fees in order to operate with the province’s approval.
POUR LIRE LA SUITE: StratCann
