Ontario is exploring the possibility of no longer running the province’s wholesale cannabis distribution business, according to several people familiar with the matter, a move that could substantially lower prices of legal pot in the province.
Ontario, which is Canada's biggest market for legal pot, will begin consultations with various industry members to pursue a Saskatchewan-like distribution model where licensed cannabis producers will ship directly to retailers, the sources said. An announcement could come as early as next week, the sources added.
The province's government-owned cannabis business is the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, a crown corporation that operates the Ontario Cannabis Store’s online retail business and sells wholesale cannabis to the province's private retail stores.
The OCRC lost $42 million in the last fiscal year, a shortfall attributed to outsized costs in establishing the province's new pot business. Earlier this month, the OCS announced former Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation vice-president Cal Bricker will take over as chief executive officer of the province’s cannabis business. Bricker will take over from Patrick Ford, who is retiring.
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