An old Canadian fish plant closed for good about ten years ago. Now, it’s turning over a new leaf, transitioning from cod to cannabis. This second chance comes thanks to Taylor Giovannini, the Founder of Oceanic Relief. The company is one of the few late-stage applicants with Health Canada under ACMPR in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Based in the rural Newfoundland setting of the Burin Peninsula, Oceanic’s growing facility is housed in a converted 63,000 sq. ft. secondary processing plant in the community of Burin.
The woman behind the transition hopes to provide not only jobs but also an opportunity to build a community in Burin. “I remember calling the mayor at the time, saying that my goal is to get at least half of the job opportunities that there used to be here. He then told me the community would be helped if the facility just supplied one job.”
Growing the staff will depend on growing the business. The lower floor of the facility is currently being prepped for expansion, which will quadruple their production to 4,000 kilos per year. As jobs are scarce in Burin and people are leaving, Giovannini is also buying houses to renovate into employee housing. “I want to make sure that there are no roadblocks in the way for our people who want to go to work.”
For more information:
Oceanic Relief 
www.oceanicreleaf.ca