Province’s attorney general aims to protect public health and safety and retailers’ interests
Manitoba’s attorney general has sought an interim and permanent injunction aiming to put a stop to the unlicensed sale of unregulated cannabis products, to apply the same set of rules to everyone and to safeguard the integrity of cannabis laws.
The action, which was brought in the public interest against Indigenous Bloom Long Plain GP Ltd. and its owners, Long Plain First Nation and Indigenous Bloom CGT Corp., seeks to ensure that controlled and authorized cannabis products from licensed producers can be consistently accessed and to protect public health and safety, the integrity of the established legal framework for Manitoba-based cannabis sales and the interests of all Manitoba cannabis retailers involved in the legal system, whether Indigenous or non-Indigenous, said the news release from the province’s justice department.
According to the statement of claim, the permanent injunction seeks to ban the named defendants from:
- establishing and operating a cannabis store and from selling cannabis on a retail basis without the needed store agreement or licence
- selling cannabis not bought from the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation, not authorized for sale under the federal Cannabis Act or not packaged, labelled and stamped appropriately under the federal requirements
- possessing cannabis for selling purposes without the proper licence
- causing anyone else who is not appropriately licensed to engage in cannabis sales
- advertising or promoting cannabis sales with the proper store licence
The proceeding was initiated under the authority of s. 55 of the Court of Queen's Bench Act, CCSM c C280 and under the court’s inherent jurisdiction as Manitoba’s superior court.
The Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act, CCSM c L153 requires that all cannabis stores in Manitoba be licensed by the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority and that all products be exclusively supplied through the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation. These requirements aim to promote the integrity of controlled and approved products from licensed producers authorized under the Cannabis Act, SC 2018, c 16 and to cover all stores regardless of whether they are found on First Nations land.
The Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority and the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation have previously made efforts to put a stop to the unlicensed sale of unregulated products at a Keeshkeemaquah store on the Long Plain First Nation and offered numerous chances for those involved to operate within the licensed legal framework.
However, the unlicensed sale of unregulated cannabis products has continued, the justice department’s news release lamented.
Province’s attorney general aims to protect public health and safety and retailers’ interests
