Tag: Cannabis
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Opting in to a public cannabis retail option for Ontario’s municipalities
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…
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OPSEU gives thumbs down to Ford’s attempt to fix cannabis debacle
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…
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Union’s ‘told you so’ response follows Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp. posting $42 million loss
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…
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The responsible way is the only way to sell cannabis: OPSEU’s president says
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…
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OPSEU President: No surprise the ombudsman was crushed by complaints on cannabis, autism, jails
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…
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‘Conservative cannabis cockup’ shows Ford Nation is utterly incompetent: OPSEU’s Thomas
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…
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77 municipalities reject Ford’s reckless plan to privatize cannabis sales
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…
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Town with secret cannabis warehouse rejects Ford’s privatization scheme
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,…
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Union reveals location of secret cannabis warehouse, claims province blocked sign up drive
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…
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Stop using police to block OPSEU from organizing cannabis warehouse workers
Toronto – OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is calling on the Ford government to stop using police to try to block workers at the privately operated cannabis warehouse from unionizing. “Calling in officers from Halton Regional Police to stop OPSEU from talking to these workers is not only a complete waste of police resources, it also…
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OPSEU: Alcohol expansion and privatization is causing a drunk driving ‘crisis’
Toronto – As police raise the alarm about the steadily increasing number of impaired drivers on our roads, OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is demanding that Premier Doug Ford abandon his reckless plans to further privatize and expand alcohol sales. “The easier it is to get alcohol and cannabis, the more deadly our roads become,”…
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Thomas to Toronto, Ottawa council: Take back your power and opt out of Ford’s private cannabis scheme
Toronto – OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is calling on city councillors in Toronto and Ottawa to opt-out of Doug Ford’s irresponsible scheme to privatize the retail sale of cannabis. “Now is the time for city councillors in Toronto and Ottawa to take back their power from Doug Ford by opting out of his reckless…
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Ford must come clean about cannabis warehouse
Toronto – OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is demanding that Doug Ford come clean about his secret deal to privatize Ontario’s cannabis warehouse, amid startling new revelations that his staff tried to conceal the cost of a sole-sourced, “personalized” camper van for the Premier to avoid public scrutiny. “This is a government that’s operating in…
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After ‘laughable’ attempt to buy support, OPSEU urges municipalities to demand public cannabis sales
Toronto – OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas says he hopes Ontario’s municipal leaders won’t be taken in by Doug Ford’s “laughable” attempt to bribe them into supporting his irresponsible scheme to privatize cannabis sales. “The ‘support’ being offered by Ford’s government might generate a couple of headlines,” Thomas said. “But in the court of public…
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OPSEU President: Ford’s ‘Folly’ Economic Update will drive up costs from alcohol use and abuse
Toronto – For a government that claims to be fiscally responsible, OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas says its plan to make alcohol easier to purchase will end up costing the province millions — even billions — in lost productivity and added health care costs. “We should be calling it the ‘folly’ economic update. Page after…