The provincial agency that oversees retail cannabis in Ontario has sifted through the mountains of applications and begun to weed some out.
Last week, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) announced winners in the second round of the retail cannabis lottery, which included one potential operator in Barrie, who then had the opportunity to apply for a licence. Lottery winners had until Wednesday to apply for their licence, at which point their applications would be reviewed by the AGCO.
One of those possible licences was initially awarded in Barrie to Sofia Kuliev at 65 Collier St., across the street from city hall.
However, on Friday the AGCO announced that Kuliev had been disqualified under Rule 14A.
Rule 14A stipulates that, within five business days of the registrar notifying the applicant of their selection, they must submit a $50,000 standby letter of credit from a bank; show they have a right to possession of retail space in their name and with the same street address listed in their application; submit an application for a retail operator licence with a non-refundable $6,000 fee; and submit an application for a retail store authorization using the same location provided in the application with a non-refundable $4,000 fee.
Last week, two others in Barrie had been placed on a waiting list, including a numbered company (5019265) for 555 Essa Rd. Unit A12, and Michael Hassey in the plaza at 231/241 Essa Rd.
The numbered company vying for a licence at 555 Essa was disqualified under Rule 8C, which includes a number of pre-qualification documents.
Hassey's proposed location, at Essa and Ardagh Road, has now been move to the 'selected' list.
Two other potential locations in Barrie have now been added to the waiting list, including a numbered company for 37 Dunlop St. W., and Kathleen Beal at 201 Cundles Rd. E., Unit 105A.
Three Innisfil locations picked in the lottery have also been disqualified under Rule 14A.
However, Vlad Levitin's application for 1982 Commerce Park Rd., is now on the waiting list, even though one of the other disqualified applications also used the same address.
Meanwhile, Louis Laskovski's application for 312 Hurontario St., in Collingwood, remains on the selected list.
