Canada’s cannabis ‘strategy table’ quietly met over summer

Added on 13 October 2023

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Canada’s cannabis ‘strategy table’ quietly met over summer

A group that was supposed to have been created by the Canadian government almost two years ago to shine a light on major issues confronting the nation’s struggling cannabis industry is, for the first time, showing signs of life.

A long-awaited cannabis “strategy table” designed to bridge communication between Canada’s federal government and the flailing industry quietly had its preliminary meeting over the summer and selected a chair, industry sources say.

George Smitherman, CEO of the Cannabis Council of Canada, said the strategy-table group – which brings together government and industry officials – represents a critical opportunity for the marijuana sector to have an aligned government champion.

And he’s upbeat after the initial meeting over the summer.

“I think that’s noteworthy, because we’re five years into (legalization), and a lot of people come away feeling like the very government that made (the industry) hasn’t been that interested in whether we actually make it,” Smitherman said.

“This hopefully is turning the corner on that.”

A plan to launch the strategy table was unveiled in the country’s federal budget in April 2022, or about 18 months ago.

Since then, however, the federal body tasked with organizing it – Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) – has said little publicly and the initiative has until now been seemingly stuck in Canada’s bureaucratic and political gridlock.

That has triggered alarm bells within the cannabis industry, which has racked up losses exceeding 20 billion Canadian dollars ($14.6 billion) while government-owned enterprises collect most of the profit.