Cannabis stores in Vancouver have started to close due to a 10-day B. C. General Employees' Union (BCGEU) strike in warehouses, which has cut off their only source of supply. Burb Cannabis, which has five outlets, closed one of its two stores in Port Colam and another in Port Moody, leaving 20 to 25 people out of work.
The remaining inventory from those two stores is being transferred to their other store in Port Colam. Business hours have also been reduced at the Burb store in Vancouver and another on Vancouver Island. Clayton Chessa, co-founder and chief operating officer of Burb, said that if the strike is not resolved soon, or if there are any alternative solutions to be able to obtain cannabis only through the warehouses of the alcoholic beverage distribution branch, the other stores will also close. Spensir Sangara, owner of THC Canada, which has a store on Main Street in Vancouver, said that the biggest concern beyond the economic consequences and the possible collapse of companies is that they have worked hard to build trust and acceptance in the legal cannabis sector over the past four years.
Now, that is being destroyed and customers are more than likely to turn to the illicit market again. Jaclynn Pehota, Executive Director of the B. Cannabis Retail Council, said that producers who were supposed to start early last week right when the strike began are now paralyzed. Private liquor stores, bars and restaurants can source beer and wine and, to a small extent, liquors such as vodka and gin directly from local producers.
However, cannabis retailers can only purchase their products directly at government alcohol wholesale and distribution centers in Delta, Richmond, Kamloops and Victoria. The BCGEU agreed on Tuesday to resume bargaining at the province's request but it's not clear what it will take to reach an agreement. The province is trying to minimize the increase in the total cost of these settlements in its annual operating budget while the union appears to be looking for wage increases to cover inflation which now stands at eight percent in Canada, far from the 3.5 percent per year offered by the province. Discover the wide range of edibles, concentrates, cannabis oils, capsules, CBD oils, rolls and dried flowers from BC Cannabis Stores available in indicative, sativa and hybrid options with different strengths of CBD and THC.
