Local cannabis company anticipates Health Canada’s green light by year’s end

There are high hopes that a cannabis production firm will bolster Stellarton’s local economy.

The company that owns the Vida Cannabis facility on Acadia Avenue, is anticipating approval for operation from Health Canada by the end of 2018.

That’s according to a public report released by parent company Zenabis in October.

It’s good news for an optimistic community, considering it’s expected to create up to 200 new jobs for the area.

“They’re not just minimum wage jobs,” said Stellarton Mayor Danny MacGillivray in a phone interview. “They’re jobs you can get a mortgage on and raise a family with. That’s the type of jobs we need to retain people here in Pictou County.”

Salary for the company’s first posted job calling for a section grower or lead production supervisor is $45,000.

According to Health Canada, Zenabis locations in B.C., and their another Atlantic facility in Atholville, N.B., were both cleared to start production.

Indications from outside the 255,000-square-foot facility would appear to confirm Zenabis’s production plans are going ahead. The parking lot has been seen filled with cars from construction crews who have been renovating the inside of the former Clairtone building.

“What they told me was that they finished the inside of the building,” said MacGillivary of the last contact he’s had with Zenabis. “And the last time I was there, I saw a lot of vehicles outside. It’s a very positive sign.”

“There’s a lot of hope,” says MacGillivary. “Stellarton, Pictou County, and rural Nova Scotia need a good economic injection.”

Zenabis did respond to requests from The News for an interview.