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Zaga's owner upset with pot shop process

A local business owner seeking to open up a privately-run cannabis retail store is accusing Victoria of allowing a government-run operation it wants to establish in Prince George to jump the approval-process queue.
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A local business owner seeking to open up a privately-run cannabis retail store is accusing Victoria of allowing a government-run operation it wants to establish in Prince George to jump the approval-process queue.

Ginny Burnett, who has owned and operated Zaga's Hemp Shop in Prince George for 15 years, says city staff gave the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch initial approval to proceed with her application on Oct. 30 after taking it through its own vetting process.

That was three weeks before the Liquor Distribution Branch told the city it is ready to seek council's approval to establish a B.C. Cannabis Store at the Westgate Shopping Centre - yet Burnett is still waiting for the LCRB to send her application back to the city for council's consideration while the provincial government's was advanced to the public hearing stage on Monday.

The LCRB maintains a policy of not stating publicly where in the approval process an application stands.

But in accordance with the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act, applicants from the private sector must obtain a licence from the LCRB before they can set up shop whereas publicly-run ones, which are governed under a different piece of legislation, do not - meaning their process is shorter.

Burnett said she recognizes private-sector applicants will go through a more thorough vetting process but suspects something more sinister is afoot.

"I think they're sandbagging," Burnett said of the provincial government. "I think they're not tentatively accepting anyone until they get theirs through...there's absolutely no reason why I wouldn't have had my approval complete by now."

She said the LCBR told her two months ago her application was good to go.

She suggested it won't be until the B.C. Cannabis Store is up an running before any applications from the private sector are forwarded to the city for approval by council.

And Burnett expressed doubt about how much money can be made selling cannabis.

"I'm doing this to keep our share of the market," she said. "That's the only reason we're doing it."

Burnett also stressed that she is not upset with the city.

"They're just doing their job," she said.

On Monday, Coun. Brian Skakun raised the same concern prior to council voting unanimously to pass B.C. Cannabis Store's application to rezone the old RBC branch at Westgate through first and second reading. A public hearing tentatively scheduled for the Feb. 4 council meeting.

"I know there are several in the community that are looking for permission from the province to come here," Skakun said.

As of November, the province was reviewing eight applications to establish cannabis stores in the city.