New Regulations Announced May 8, Effective Immediately
On May 8, 2019, Health Canada announced changes to the cannabis licensing process, effective immediately. Health Canada will now require all new applicants for cultivation, processing or sale for medical purposes licenses to have a fully built site that meets all the requirements of the Cannabis Regulations at the time of their application, as well as satisfying other application criteria.
Green Mountain joined a teleconference held by Health Canada on May 8th to provide details on the new process, and we will also attend a teleconference specifically for Indigenous Associated applicants later this month.
Health Canada said this change was introduced in order to align the approach to cannabis licensing with the approach for other regulated sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, and to reduce bottlenecks in the approval process. As reported in the Health Canada teleconference, approximately 70% of all license applicants have NOT submitted an Evidence Package (the step immediately before a cultivation license, in which the applicant proves that the facility and associated security requirements meet the regulations under The Cannabis Act). This has contributed significantly to the clogging of the system as Health Canada has been dedicating resources to processing licenses from applicants who are not ready to commence operations. The new system aims to eliminate these types of submissions from cannabis license applicants who are unable to follow through with the completion of their facility.
We have been in contact with our Health Canada appointed Indigenous Navigator, and we have learned that this change to the licensing process will not affect the status of our application. Our application will continue to be reviewed under the former licensing process – as we build our facility rather than after we submit our Evidence Package. This is fantastic news for Green Mountain and means that the new process will not slow down our approval.
Green Mountain is in full support of these changes and we believe that this is positive news for the cannabis industry as a whole, as it ensures that all license applicants under The Cannabis Act genuinely and validly have the intent and funding to construct their facilities, and it unburdens Health Canada licensing resources to focus on processing licenses submitted by companies that are ready to operate.
We will be sure to provide further updates as our cannabis license application and greenhouse construction progress.
For more information, please contact:
Wade Attwood, President, Green Mountain
Investor Inquiries:
Michele Lise, Investor Relations, Green Mountain
1-833-291-GMTN or 604-612-4443
