After numerous bankruptcies of cannabis companies, the department of Health said it would cut regulations as growers, wholesalers, and retailers blame federal regulations and taxes for ruining the industry.. Cannabis scale .“The marketplace has evolved,” the Health Department wrote in a legal notice. .“Health Canada is seeking feedback on potential amendments to the Cannabis Regulations for regulatory burden reduction while still addressing public health,” said Health Canada..“There may be regulatory measures that could be made more efficient and streamlined,” said a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement. .The department said it was reviewing rules on licensing, security, labelling, and packaging..Amendments were not detailed. No deadline was set for any red tape reduction measures..A total of 34 marijuana corporations became insolvent since 2020, according to bankruptcy court figures. .More will follow, said Cannabis Council of Canada CEO George Smitherman..“There will be closures, there will be consolidations, but here is one rather sobering data set,” Smitherman told reporters on February 15 on Parliament Hill. .“There are about 300 licensed producers that have an account with the Canada Revenue Agency to remit excise tax. Seventy percent of those companies are in default of those payments.”.Smitherman said regulatory mandates, fees, and taxes “make our industry largely unsustainable” despite legalization. .“If you put up your hand and say you’re willing to be regulated, they have every fee and tax for you,” said Smitherman..On June 20, cannabis growers told the Commons Agriculture committee there was little profit to be made, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.. CannabisPhoto Credit: CBC .“There is more money in a winery,” testified Timothy Deighton, owner of Sweetgrass Cannabis in Ymir, BC..Deighton said it took his company 11 months to get licensing approval and paid $100,000 to comply with security requirements. .Parliament on legalizing marijuana in 2018 taxed it at $1 per gram, about 15% plus GST..The legalized cannabis experiment failed, Conservative MP Dave Epp (Chatham-Kent, ON) told the Agriculture committee..“Neither of the two stated objectives, basically the reduction of organized crime and the reduction of the black market, have occurred,” said Epp..Sales of legal cannabis are $4 billion a year, by a Statistics Canada estimate. .Total revenues for provinces, territories, and the federal treasury from sales and excise taxes were $1.6 billion annually, said a February 24 report Control and Sale of Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022.
