Unifor cites Canna Clinic sta ’s right to unionize
TORONTO • Canada’s largest private- sector union says it isn’t bothered that its firstever group of medical marijuana members works at an illegal pot dispensary.
Unifor spokeswoman Katha Fortier said it is in the process of negotiating a contract for all 40 employees at one of Toronto’s Canna Clinic marijuana dispensaries, which sells dried cannabis as well as oils and edibles, but does not have a Health Canada licence to do so.
Licensed producers are currently the only legal sellers of marijuana in Canada and their operations are strictly regulated. They can sign up patients only with a medical authorization from a doctor and can deliver product only through a mail order system.
Many dispensaries claim they are for medical marijuana and charge customers a fee to get an authorization from their health-care professionals before selling them marijuana over the counter without a licence.
“As a union, our legal relationship is between the workers and their employer,” said Fortier, assistant to Unifor’s president.
“Ultimately t his is a group of workers, they receive pay from their employer, they pay normal deductions that everybody else pays when they go to work and the labour board, where the application goes to certify, says ( the dispensary is) an employer.” Can na Clinic’ s website claims it is “Canada’s leading provider of medical cannabis products and accessories.” It also lists a menu of products currently on hand at its locations in Toronto and Vancouver and offers daily deals such as 2 Toonie Tuesday’s "$ 4 pre- rolled joint.”
Unifor president Jerry Dias said in a press release that every worker has a right to unionize regardless of the legal status of the industry in which they work. The union is actively trying to seek out new workplaces to join amid a dramatic decline in unionization rates.
Fortier said she is unaware of whether local organizers knew of the clinic’s questionable legal standing, adding that it’s not the union’s job to investigate the legal status of an employer.
“Obviously the marijuana debate is raging in the country and I think we all know where it’s heading, but this is an industry that’s going to be growing.”
Labour lawyer Peter Straszynski said there is nothing technically “unlawful about t he union organizing the company’ s employees .” “The issue of the legality of the enterprise is between the authorities and the company (and maybe its owners or principals,” he said.
The industry is expected to rapidly expand with the advent of legalization for recreational use expected in July 2018. However, it’s unclear whether dispensaries will be able to play a role in retail distribution in a system that is expected to remain tightly regulated.