B.C. cannabis workers may be barred from U.S.
Minister: Looking into options
B.C.’s solicitor general says he’s extremely concerned that the United States might bar provincial government employees from travelling across the American border because they work in the province’s new legal cannabis branch.
Mike Farnworth said on Monday he’s aware of a threat by U.S. border officials to deny entry to anyone involved in Canada’s marijuana industry, which will become legal on Oct. 17.
That’s raised the risk that hundreds of B.C. government employees could find themselves unable to travel to the United States because they staff the new public cannabis retail stores and distribution branch, including front-line workers, managers and ministry officials. The first B.C. government store, in Kamloops, will open on the day of federal legalization.
“We’ve been making it clear to the federal government that this is a serious issue,” Farnworth said. He called it an “unintended consequence” of Canada’s legalization. “We as a province want to make sure that British Columbians understand what it means to cross the border, and to understand the risks, particularly with the Trump administration in power.”
One potential workaround for the B.C. government could be to drop the cannabis name from its new stores, thereby providing some cover for employees who could claim they work for the provincial liquor branch. Farnworth would not confirm that particular tactic was under consideration, but said: “We’re looking at what the options are to deal with this.”
Although Canada will legalize marijuana on Oct. 17, it remains illegal in the U.S. and anyone trying to cross the border who is involved in the “sale, possession, production and distribution of marijuana” could be denied entry, fined or detained, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office said on Monday.
“As marijuana remains federally prohibited in the U.S., working in or facilitating the proliferation of the legal marijuana industry in U.S. states where it is deemed legal or Canada may affect a foreign national’s admissibility to the United States,” the U.S. border agency said in a statement.
One of the U.S. border agency’s top officials told news site Politco that if anyone admitted to border officials they have used marijuana in the past, or work in the business in Canada, they would not be allowed entry. Border agents routinely ask travellers what they do for a living. “If you work for the industry, that is grounds for inadmissibility,” Todd Owen, executive assistant commissioner for the border service’s office of field operations, told Politico.
The border agency’s comments are bad news for Canada, said Len Sanders, an immigration lawyer in Blaine, Washington. Already, Canadians who invest in cannabis-related businesses have found themselves turned back at the U.S. border.
“This is a worst-case scenario for Canadians,” said Sanders. “I’ve been saying the same warnings for the last two years. Canadians have to be very careful.”
B.C. government employees who work in cannabis retail stores will be unionized public servants. The government intends to expand the cannabis-only retail stores in coming months, as well as license privately-run stores.
“Definitely, our members working in government cannabis stores could be impacted and we’ve been working with the employer to make sure they are aware of that,” said Danielle Marchand, a spokesperson for the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union.
Refusing to answer a question about your profession will almost certainly get you turned back by border officials, Sanders said. But lying about your job or attempting to skirt the truth about connections to the cannabis industry could land you a lifetime ban, he said.
British Columbia’s public safety minister says the province will meet demand for recreational marijuana with only one government-run shop and an online store when the drug is legalized next month.
Mike Farnworth also defended the province’s approach to legalization Monday after it announced that only one brickand-mortar B.C. Cannabis Store in Kamloops will be open when recreational pot becomes legal Oct. 17.
“This is the largest publicpolicy shift in this country in decades and it’s not something that just happens overnight,” Farnworth said in an interview.
“The fact that we went out and said we’re going to consult with local government and make sure that communities are involved right from the get-go was the right approach to take.”
Farnworth said the Kamloops store is just the start and he expects other public and private shops will open in the weeks and months after legalization.
The site in Kamloops did not require a rezoning application and the province paid the city $5,000 for a business licence, plus an application fee of $1,600.
Some communities have done a lot of work to prepare for legalization, but others have not, and many are waiting until after B.C.’s municipal elections on Oct. 20 to start the approval process, Farnworth said.
The City of Victoria has established a regulatory regime for pot shops that Mayor Lisa Helps has said gives the municipality a head start on approving cannabis retail outlets.
The presence of only one government store on the day of legalization will be a boon to private cannabis businesses, said Alex Robb, general manager for Trees, the first cannabis retailer to be rezoned under Victoria’s new rules in 2017.
“I do think this advantages private retailers, and the reason for that is I think there’s going to be a lot of space and possibilities open in B.C. for private retailers post-legalization,” Robb said.
Robb said it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the private sector is able to move faster than the provincial government, given that many cannabis companies have an established management team and operations staff. Retail cannabis stores operating in the shadow market before legalization already have established suppliers and built up a loyal customer base.
The B.C. government began hiring its cannabis regulatory staff in the spring.
“The thing that prevents [government stores] from opening shouldn’t be lack of supply, it’s logistics,” Robb said. “They need to hire an entire broad company before they can even open one store. That’s the reason for what has been seen by many as a delay, but is actually the functioning of a government as it hires a whole new division.”
The B.C. Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch began accepting applications for non-medical cannabis retail licences in August, which many private retailers said was too tight a time frame to be approved by Oct. 17.
It’s still a possibility that some private stores will be ready to open on the day pot becomes legal, Farnworth said, adding that the province has received about 115 paid applications and notified local governments where those applicants are based. Once a municipal government decides to support an application, the province does a background check and issues a licence, he said.
Farnworth said he expects to see government stores on Vancouver Island and in communities across the province.
He said the province will have plenty of supply and a significant variety of pot. It has signed agreements with more than 30 licensed producers of medical cannabis, including Tilray Inc., Aurora Cannabis Inc. and Canopy Growth Corp.
Ian Dawkins, president of the Cannabis Commerce Association of Canada, said he expects about a half-dozen private retailers will be able to open their doors in the first month and a half of legalization.