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Vancouver to cut $34K yearly cannabis store fee

Published on February 21, 2021 by oz. staff

Vancouver city council voted to cut the $34,000 legal cannabis retailers have to pay every year for their licence.

The motion passed last week.

In contrast, liquor stores pay an annual fee of $429.

The fee is the highest in Canada and was put into place before legalization for medical dispensaries.

She says Vancouver’s illicit market is growing, rather than the legal one.

Coun. Rebecca Bligh says the move is meant to help licensed retailers thrive. She says she hopes cannabis retailer fees will be more comparable to liquor store fees.

“I mean when you think about $34,000, it’s a full-time person’s salary for a year,” she told Vancouver’s AM 1130.

More than half of the revenue from the fee is spent around enforcement on the illicit market.

City staff have been directed to come back with a recommendation before licenses need to be renewed again on Dec. 31, 2021.