A public hearing will take place in Niverville on December 15 at which town council will hear from a new applicant seeking to open a cannabis retail outlet. The proposed location is at 41 Main Street, a unit in the new commercial strip mall where construction will begin this month.
Sim Sandhu is the spokesperson for the ownership group behind the proposal. Should the shop come to fruition, the business will be called Urban Flavours.
“As a group, we have been looking at doing something in Niverville for the last few years now,” says Sandhu. “We had pursued a few business opportunities, which unfortunately we were not able to close on. At the moment our group is looking at the retail cannabis business as well as another business, which we will be revealing to the community soon. We enjoy the way the community supports local businesses and how the overall focus on building a healthy community is a strong goal for both council and the community. It is not a secret that the town has seen exponential growth over the last few years and we plan to bring a positive impact to the community through business relationships and community support.”
Sandhu adds that he and his group have more than three years of experience in the retail cannabis business.
In Manitoba, the sale of cannabis is overseen by the Liquor, Gaming, and Cannabis Authority. Sandhu explains that the LGCA has a very strict and extensive approval process to ensure that all companies selling cannabis in Manitoba meet a high standard.
“All companies applying for a retail cannabis license are required to provide all personal and business disclosures and background checks,” he says. “This means that all of our personal and other business interests are analyzed to ensure that we are good businessmen who have a strong track record when it comes to managing and operating a business in the province of Manitoba.”
Beyond these checks, Sandhu says they must also present an employee screening plan, as well as a thorough security plan for their business.
“When it comes to security, we have engaged ProTELEC Alarms, who is a leader in the security industry and have completed over 50 retail cannabis installations across the country,” he says. “We are meeting the minimum [security] standards set forth by the LGCA and have added additional security measures to appease the community, which includes providing RCMP access to our surveillance systems. Further details on security will be provided as we go through the build process.”
An issue of major concern both to the LGCA generally and Sandhu’s company specifically is ensuring that minors aren’t able to access the product.
Sandhu confirms that this is a major focus for him and his partners.
“We have a strict protocol, which is also mandated by the LGCA, to verify the age of any individual purchasing cannabis,” he says. “Similar restrictions are also in place for tobacco and/or alcohol consumption. As an authorized licensee, we must adhere to these laws or our license will be revoked.”
This latest approval process comes after the previous company assigned to the Niverville area, Canna Cabana, withdrew their interest in operating a store here. Canna Cabana’s application to council was rejected in July 2019, and their bid to open a store stalled out afterward due to a variety of factors, including the absence of suitable commercial properties.
For this reason, Sandhu and his business partners feel the only viable option is to request a variance to the town’s bylaw establishing a 1,000-foot buffer between cannabis retail and a school or park. They looked hard for other locations and weren’t able to find any that met their needs. Their proposed location at 41 Main Street would instead be 744 feet from the nearest school.
“We are looking at retail cannabis from a business standpoint,” he says, “but we also understand that this is a very sensitive matter when it comes to the proximity to the school, and overall acceptance in the community will have its pros and cons. As a group, we were all raised in Manitoba and we have a reputation for doing good business and creating a positive impact on the community. We are not a large corporate entity like all of the other cannabis retailers whose main focus is opening many stores in a short period of time to control the market. Our store is not a franchise model as most others are. We control everything, and this was important for us before we made the decision to pursue retail cannabis in Niverville. We know that if and when retail cannabis were to come to the town that our team would be the best caretakers of that responsibility.”
The public hearing on December 15 will by necessity be a virtual meeting, due to the current pandemic restrictions that prohibit indoor gatherings. Residents who wish to voice comments, whether in support or in opposition, may submit their correspondence to planning@whereyoubelong.ca. This correspondence will be read into the public record at the hearing. Anonymous comments will not be addressed.
Individuals who would like to attend the virtual meeting must register in advance by emailing the town (reception@whereyoubelong.ca) on or before December 14.
