The Canadian cannabis industry is asking Ottawa for relief in paying regulatory fees to the government to help distressed pot companies weather the current pandemic this year.
The National Cannabis Working Group, an offshoot of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, has asked the Canadian government to excuse a regulatory fee payment — which is equal to 2.3 per cent of a pot company's annual revenue — over the next three fiscal quarters to help support a post-COVID recovery for pot firms.
"As this new industry continues to face competition from a robust illegal market, it is facing significant liquidity challenges in the current economic environment," the group said in a statement sent to BNN Bloomberg on Wednesday. "For legalization to succeed the regulated cannabis sector needs assistance through this extraordinary period — without these companies, there will not be a legal supply of cannabis in Canada and the illegal market will flourish."
Canadian cannabis companies paid the government about $3.6 million in regulatory payments in fiscal 2019, which ended in March 2019, according to the Canadian government.
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