Sign up for the battlefordsNOW newsletter

Medicinal marijuana facility coming to Battlefords

Aug 22, 2017 | 3:58 PM

North Battleford’s Industrial Park will soon be looking a whole lot greener now that a local company has plans to venture into the marijuana business.

Envirosafe Chemicals Canada Inc., located on Thatcher Avenue, wants to expand their current business to begin growing marijuana by next year. The plan is to sell to distributors for medicinal-use nationally and eventually internationally.

The firm received zoning approval to expand its operations to develop the marijuana production site, at city council’s meeting Monday.

“It’s exciting we got the approval to go forward,” said Envirosafe president and CEO James Davey. “It’s a process — Health Canada has to be involved. We have to make applications to them before it goes anywhere.”

He said it might take up to eight months for Health Canada to provide the authorization to begin marijuana production.  

“It has to be all supervised by Health Canada,” Davey said.

The firm, which currently manufactures environmentally-safe industrial chemicals, plans to quadruple its size, from 12,000 sq. ft. to 52,000 sq. ft., so it can also start producing marijuana, which it will sell to distributors across Canada, who will then distribute it to clients with doctor referrals.

Davey said before deciding to move into the medical marijuana production business, the company was interested in diversifying to increase its revenue.

“We would like to be ready in a year,” Davey said of his company’s plans with the expansion. “Once we get approval from Ottawa, we will hit the ground running.”

Davey added there is a growing market for medicinal marijuana.

“There is a great demand for it,” he said. “They can’t produce it fast enough. There is a need for other producers – like what we are trying to do.”

“We’ll probably capture all of northern Canada,” Davey said, added there is a need for service in this market. 

Envirosafe also plans to hire 36 more staff after its expansion is completed.

Mayor Ryan Bater said it’s good news for the local economy.

“I am always interested to see new enterprises in the city, new businesses… It’s good to see that happening in North Battleford.”

He said council voted unanimously in favour of the application. The city also hasn’t received any objections after sending letters to surrounding businesses.

According to Davey, with federal government plans to legalize marijuana for recreational use in the year ahead, that might mean more opportunities for the company in the future.

“We know that marijuana may be legalized in a year and a half from now or next summer for sure, so we are trying to get ahead of the program,” Davey said.  

Bater said after council if marijuana is legalized in Canada on July 1, 2018, “that brings a number of issues to municipalities – zoning is one of them.”

Last winter the city amended its zoning bylaw to include a provision for medicinal marijuana production in the industrial park area.

“After July, we’ll have to consider amending that bylaw to get rid of the word medicinal, if we want to allow just the production of recreational or other marijuana in the city,” Bater said.  

He added looking at the possibility of zoning to allow, or not to allow, for retail sales would be a whole other issue for the future.

 “That’s an important discussion to have,” he said.     

  

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW