Regulator says more pot shops on the way

Province received 231 applications for stores in Calgary

Any fears cannabis legalization is leaving Calgarians behind should be short-lived, said Alberta’s pot regulator.

Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis has received 231 marijuanastore applications from Calgary, compared to 148 from Edmonton, with a dozen interim licences being granted to shops in the capitalcity region, likely allowing them to open Oct. 17, the day the plant is legalized.

Yet only two of the 17 interim licences granted provincewide so far were handed to store locations in Calgary, both of them on Macleod Trail.

But that doesn’t mean there’s been any favouritism shown to Edmonton-area entrepreneurs, said AGLC spokeswoman Heather Holmen.

“That’s not a selection by any means. It’s not about preference, it’s about how applications are received,” she said, adding municipal permitting plays a role.

“It could be reflective of how quickly the City of Edmonton is moving on the applications.”

Some smaller centres, she said, have yet to draw up bylaws governing the trade while background checks on employees could be taking longer for some Calgary stores.

“Background checks can take two to four months per (store) application,” she said.

After Oct. 17, the AGLC will continue to issue as quickly as possible interim licences which allow stores to purchase and store cannabis before it can be sold as of Oct. 17, said Holmen.

That will include Calgary stores, she said, where more than 100 have been granted some kind of approval by city officials, though a similar number are facing appeals.

“We’re not going to be slowing down by any means, it’ll be business as usual,” said Holmen.

But she said even with those AGLC licences, some of the 17 stores that now have them might not open Oct. 17 if they ’re not physically ready or haven’t yet garnered all municipal permits needed.

“They’re likely to be in business Oct. 17,” said Holmen.

The pace of that AGLC permitting isn’t a great surprise, given the unprecedented nature of recreational cannabis legalization, said Angus Taylor of retail chain New Leaf.

“The vetting of all business owners is an ongoing process — the AGLC is making sure everything is in place,” he said.

He said a Calgary process allowing public input three weeks following a store application being filed cost many potential retailers preparation time.

Fred Pels said he still has a way to go before he can garner an AGLC licence, given all three of his Calgary locations that have been approved by city regulators are under appeal.

“It’s tough to say what’s going to happen moving forward, but two of those spots for sure have a good chance,” said Pels, owner of the Green Room chain.

The province said it’s possible 250 cannabis stores could be green-lighted a year from now.