A Williams Lake cannabis shop has its eyes set on Merritt as its first franchisee.
Williams Lake First Nation presented the opportunity for Unity Cannabis to spread its business to Merritt in front of city council on Tuesday, the first cannabis shop owned by an Indigenous reserve in Canada.
Willie Sellars, the Chief of Williams Lake First Nation, said that while there are 27 possible businesses waiting in the wings for approval under the Section 119 Act of cannabis control and licensing, it is currently only Unity and a business in the Lower Mainland that have been approved.
“We will source local talent,” said Sellars. “…we invest in our employees education to give people a better retail experience.”
The company has been eyeing the Adelphi Hotel as a possible location.
Sellars said they would also be renting a residential suite at the hotel if permitted to proceed, and if they are successful at placing the cannabis outlet at the Adelphi, that there is potential interest in developing the bar/restaurant space at the hotel.
The “historic, rustic” look of the Adelphi was a key factor in choosing a possible location.
“The historical component of these old stores, to embrace it and expand on it, I think is going to be something that we want to look at and continue to build on.”
The idea is for a vertically-integrated distribution structure, which would include constructing a $3-million Health Canada-licensed micro-cultivation facility in Williams Lake – allowing for Indigenous-grown product not available in other areas of the province.
The facility would be BC’s first seed-to-sale “farm-gate” cultivation project.
“It’s something that we’ve embraced, and we’ve been trying to push along,” said Sellers. “I think it’s a neat model.”
Mayor Linda Brown asked Sellars about possible communications with the local indian bands over the project, something Sellars said will be looked into.
“One of the things I was taught at a young age as a leader was if you are going to be operating as a leader in somebody else’s territory, you have to go and create that relationship with the leaders of that territory.”
