Quebec’s CAQ government is appealing a Superior Court ruling from early September tstruck down two sections of Quebec’s Cannabis Regulation Act prohibiting home cannabis cultivation.
CanLii, CBC Montreal
- The appeal will likely challenge Justice Manon Lavoie’s contention the provincial ban on home cultivation made home-growing a matter of criminal law, which is the sole jurisdiction of the federal government.
- In explaining the decision to appeal, health minister Lionel Carmant argued, “developing [growing] at home, that normalizes” cannabis consumption. He noted the “distinct character” of Quebec society and argued the province should be allowed to take different tactics than the rest of Canada in approaching legalization.
TVA Nouvelles—In French, Le Devoir—In French
The Quebec government’s REC retail monopoly, meanwhile, seems healthy if tentative. SQDC president and director Jean-François Bergeron announced plans to double the number of SQDC retail outlets by March.
Montreal Gazette
- The move would increase Quebec’s REC retailers to 43, one store for every 195,116 Quebeckers.
- Bergeron said supply shortages in the early months were not caused by poor SQDC planning but rather by outside forces. However, he said the SQDC has overcome the growing pains of the early days of legalization, and he predicted the SQDC will post a $20M profit for this financial year, ending next March 31.
Le Devoir—In French, CTV News
Quick Hits
- The Globe‘s Jameson Berkow continued touring the Canadian cannabis industry, this week travelling from Saskatchewan through to Quebec.
Globe and Mail - Aleafia will move to cancel a five-year, 175,000-kilogram supply agreement with Aphria, saying Aphria has been a “consistent failure” at meeting the terms of their agreement to supply Aleafia subsidiary Emblem.
MJ Biz Daily, Bloomberg
