Ontario Cannabis Store says labelling mixup to blame for new delivery delays

TORONTO — Ontario’s government-run online cannabis retailer, already facing many complaints in the weeks since legalization, has blamed producers licensed by Health Canada for what it calls a labelling mixup that delayed delivery of some products.

In an email to affected customers this week, Patrick Ford, CEO of the Ontario Cannabis Store, said the province’s only legal outlet for recreational pot had put in place unspecified measures to prevent a recurrence.

Ford also promised packages would leave the store’s distribution centre on the weekend.

“The OCS sincerely apologizes for how long you have had to wait for your order,” he said in the email. “As a small gesture of our appreciation for your patience, we are providing you with a refund of the $5 shipping fee you paid.”

The email said the promised shipping refund applies only to people who ordered affected products from the online store on Oct. 17 — the day recreational pot became legal in Canada — or Oct. 18, but not to those who ordered in the ensuing days, had their payments accepted, but also didn’t receive their purchased product because of the mixup.

Asked for further specifics, Ford would not say how the mislabelling occurred or which products were affected. He would also not say how many customers were affected, how much the mistake was costing the agency, or what measures had been put in place to ensure the problem did not happen again.

“Some of the items we received from Health Canada-authorized licensed producers (LPs) were mislabelled, and this delayed our ability to process and ship these items to some of our customers,” said Amanda Winton, spokesperson for the cannabis store.

Health Canada had no immediate comment on the situation.

The OCS, put in place Oct. 17, has prompted an avalanche of customer complaints, the province’s ombudsman, Paul Dubé, has said.