Ontario said its government-owned cannabis business lost $42 million in the last fiscal year, while the province collected barely half the amount of excise taxes it estimated it would generate, in the latest symptoms of a shaky start to legalizing recreational pot in Canada�s most populous province.
The Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, a crown corporation that operates the Ontario Cannabis Store�s online retail business and sells wholesale cannabis to the province's private retail stores, generated $64 million in the fiscal 2018-2019 year, according to public accounts released on Friday.
However, expenses at the OCRC ballooned to $106 million in the twelve months ending Mar. 31, up from $6 million in fiscal 2017-2018 when the government commenced operations of its cannabis business.
Daffyd Roderick, a spokesperson for the OCS, said the agency wasn�t able to book wholesale revenue from selling into the first wave of physical retail stores in the latest fiscal year, which hurt the crown corporation�s bottom line.
�OCS expects continued revenue growth as the industry evolves and Ontario�s private retail store network expands to meet the needs of adult consumers across the province,?Roderick said in an email to BNN Bloomberg.
�Cannabis legalization is a new venture for Ontario,?Marc Pichette, a spokesperson for the province's finance ministry, told BNN Bloomberg in an email.
Developing the province�s retail framework ?needed to effectively stamp out the black market ?also led to some initial costs, he added.
Meanwhile, the Ontario government said Friday it generated $19 million in revenue from cannabis excise taxes in its last fiscal year, falling well short of the $35-million estimate presented in the most recent provincial budget.
Legal cannabis sales in Ontario have totalled $121 million since October, the second-largest amount in the country behind Alberta which has sold $124 million, according to Statistics Canada. However, sales of recreational cannabis in Ontario have been off to a sluggish start amid a lack of available bricks-and-mortar retail outlets, supply shortages, and various logistical issues.
The Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, a crown corporation that operates the Ontario Cannabis Store�s online retail business and sells wholesale cannabis to the province's private retail stores, generated $64 million in the fiscal 2018-2019 year, according to public accounts released on Friday.
However, expenses at the OCRC ballooned to $106 million in the twelve months ending Mar. 31, up from $6 million in fiscal 2017-2018 when the government commenced operations of its cannabis business.
Daffyd Roderick, a spokesperson for the OCS, said the agency wasn�t able to book wholesale revenue from selling into the first wave of physical retail stores in the latest fiscal year, which hurt the crown corporation�s bottom line.
�OCS expects continued revenue growth as the industry evolves and Ontario�s private retail store network expands to meet the needs of adult consumers across the province,?Roderick said in an email to BNN Bloomberg.
�Cannabis legalization is a new venture for Ontario,?Marc Pichette, a spokesperson for the province's finance ministry, told BNN Bloomberg in an email.
Developing the province�s retail framework ?needed to effectively stamp out the black market ?also led to some initial costs, he added.
Meanwhile, the Ontario government said Friday it generated $19 million in revenue from cannabis excise taxes in its last fiscal year, falling well short of the $35-million estimate presented in the most recent provincial budget.
Legal cannabis sales in Ontario have totalled $121 million since October, the second-largest amount in the country behind Alberta which has sold $124 million, according to Statistics Canada. However, sales of recreational cannabis in Ontario have been off to a sluggish start amid a lack of available bricks-and-mortar retail outlets, supply shortages, and various logistical issues.
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