Alberta private pot-selling plants some risky seeds

Many Albertans still remember 1993, when Premier Ralph Klein’s Progressive Conservative government privatized liquor stores.

It was a radical move in Canada. Big uproar. Very quickly, public stores closed and private ones began opening.

Today, an Albertan can be an extremely seasoned drinker without even remembering the government stores. A visit to a public store in, say, Toronto, can be a shock. They’re clean and sparkly, but you feel like you’re applying for benefits.

I do remember this about 1993— quite a few licences for private stores went to friends of the government, people with party ties. Some of those pals did very well with multiple stores.

The same possibility exists with private cannabis stores. Big sales and bigger profits are at stake. With so much money suddenly on the loose, favouritism and patronage are just around the corner.

The private sector, including the Alberta Chambers of Commerce, is ecstatic with the NDP’s decision not to create government-owned outlets.

The hopefuls make heartfelt pledges to sell cannabis in fine private stores with expert, trained staff keeping a sharp eye on all the rules, including age restrictions.

They mean it, obviously. But we know that despite generally high quality, some private liquor stores are dumps.

So, the NDP has a serious duty to be scrupulously fair about distribution of store licences, and rigorous in examining qualifications of applicants. Proof of donation to the ND P should not be a qualification.

These permits should come at a significant cost, too. They could be extremely lucrative over time. And the government is on the verge of cannabis revenue shortfall to match all its other shortfalls.

Nobody yet know show much it will cost to establish and regulate this system, or how much it can make in return. The NDP is only certain that for several years, the spending will far outstrip the revenue. The government has to find away to make pot pay.

Maybe that’s why there was a touch of private-sector irritation last week, at final confirmation that the stores will have to compete with government online sales.

Cannabis will be handled on the same model as spirits, with the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission buying the product and wholesaling it to private stores.

But there’s no online store for alcohol. Cannabis gets one, ostensibly because the government can’t be sure the private stores will be open by next July 1, the launch date for legality.

The more likely reason is cash. With less overhead than stores, and a monopoly in Alberta, a government online operation could be very profitable. Imagine the Alberta NDP as the Amazon of pot.

Much of this remains mysterious. Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley, for instance, wouldn’t even say last Thursday if the AGLC will charge a mark upon cannabis.

C’mon, of course it will. The province marks up liquor at will. In March, there was out rage when the budget imposed a hike of 22 cents per litre.

Once the stores are operating, inspection and enforcement will be crucial. Those things didn’t matter so much in the Klein era, when the PCs were cutting spending and regulations at the same time they were privatizing not just liquor stores, but registries and other services.

New Democrats, by contrast, are quite comfortable with regulating and enforcing. They also have a genuine passion for public health and safety. If anything, they’ll over-regulate this system to avoid abuse.

At this stage, it’s hard to say if Alberta cannabis marketing will be a success.

Liquor legalization worked very well in the end. But it was much less complicated, and the stuff on sale was already legal.