Cannabis

The following letter was sent to Mississauga City Council by OPSEU/SEFPO President Warren (Smokey) Thomas, in response to the City Council’s decision to opt out of private cannabis retail. Download the letter. Mississauga City Council Mississauga Civic Centre 300 City Centre Drive Mississauga, ON L5B 3C1 Re: Opting in to a public cannabis retail option...

TORONTO – The LCBO’s latest profits show the Crown corporation’s value to the people of Ontario, OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas said Friday. In its 2018/2019 annual report released Thursday, the LCBO is reporting earnings of $2.37 billion on total revenue of $6.39 billion. Thomas said those profits go to the provincial government and pay...

The Ford government’s latest reset of its disastrous decision to privatize cannabis sales is bound to make an already bad situation worse, says OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “What will it take for the government to understand that cannabis retail stores need to be operated by trained professionals?” asked Thomas. Thomas can’t believe the Ford...

Legal cannabis sales in Ontario totalled $121 million this past fiscal year—the first in which cannabis was federally legal. But the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation posted a hefty $42 million loss, and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), which has opposed Premier Doug Ford government’s retail plans from their inception, is saying the numbers...

TORONTO —  The President of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union says alarming financial figures from the Crown corporation responsible for cannabis are proof the Ford government must go back to the drawing board on how the drug is sold. Warren (Smokey) Thomas says the fact the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp. lost $42 million in...

Toronto – As the cannabis criminal market continues to thrive across the province, OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is demanding that the Ford government allow the LCBO to compete for new cannabis-store licenses. “The private sector has had more than a year to set up the legal cannabis system, but has failed us at every...

Toronto– OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas says he’s not the least bit surprised that complaints to the province’s ombudsman have jumped by 30 per cent since the Ford government came to power. “When you govern with cuts and chaos, people get hurt,” said Thomas. “People are in pain. People need help. And people have learned...

Toronto – The Ford government’s plan to have private stores sell cannabis has suffered another setback, prompting OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas to again call for a reliable public option. Thomas is reacting to media reports that Ontario’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has confirmed that seven of the 25 licensed cannabis operators have...

TORONTO – Drug dealers and Ford Nation insiders are the only ones reaping the rewards as the premier’s privatized cannabis scheme fails again to deliver on its overblown promises, says OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “Today is the day Ford promised we’d finally have at least 25 cannabis stores open in across the province,” said...

Toronto – OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas says 77 municipalities across Ontario have sent a clear message to Doug Ford that they want no part of his reckless scheme to put cannabis sales in the hands of profit-driven private retailers.  Nearly a quarter of Ontario municipalities have opted out of the Ford government’s irresponsible plan...

Toronto – The same town where the Ontario government set up its secret cannabis warehouse is banning private retailers, joining 50 other municipalities in just saying no to Premier Doug Ford’s reckless scheme to privatize cannabis sales. “It’s pretty ironic,” said OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “The Premier put his 78,000-square-foot cannabis castle in Oakville,...

The head of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union says the provincial government is trying to prevent workers from unionizing at the Ontario Cannabis Store warehouse. The union also claims to have discovered the location of the warehouse, which had been kept secret by the OCS due to security concerns. Click here to read the full...