Cannabis firm brings hope to Merritt

MERRITT — Arnold Meyer spent 40 years working at the Tolko Industries Ltd. mill in Merritt. Then he faced the reality of being laid off.

The 62-year-old was one of about 200 employees who lost their jobs in 2016, crippling the economy of the town in B.C.’s southern Interior and prompting politicians to promise to restore the ailing forestry sector.

Two years later, the province’s lumber industry is still facing challenges, but a new sector is revving up. A cannabis company hopes to build a grow facility in Merritt, replacing jobs, including Meyer’s, that were lost in the mill closure.

“It sounds good to me. They said they want me to be one of the first hires for when the plant opens up,” said Meyer, who held various positions at Tolko, where he mostly drove machinery.

Emerald Plants Health Source Inc., or EPHS, purchased a massive chunk of land in the community and plans to build an initial 3,700-square-metre facility before building up to potentially more than 100,000 square metres.

The facility would eventually employ more than 200 people in a range of jobs, from low-skill trimmer roles to higher-paid management jobs.

Members of the company learned about Meyer in a Canadian Press story on whether marijuana had the potential to revitalize small towns hit hard by resource job losses. In the 2017 article, Meyer said he hoped a cannabis company would create jobs in the community.

“It just resonated with us as a group as we read that article,” said Jeff Hancock, executive vice-president of Emerald.

Emerald also hopes to contact others formerly employed by Tolko. There are many transferable skills from mill work to cannabis and other skills can be learned, Hancock said, adding the company had good conversations with city staff and plans to put in its formal application soon.