Cannabis delivery, curbside pickup return to Ontario — but for how long?

Private-sector Ontario cannabis retailers might once again offer home delivery and curbside pickup during a monthlong pandemic lockdown in two heavily populated regions, but it remains unclear how long the government will continue allowing those services.

“There’s a high possibility that this 28-day lockdown period will be extended … I think we’re certainly expecting to see an increasing (COVID-19) case number following the last hurrah this (past) weekend, where malls and retail and restaurants and bars were all packed,” said Alanna Sokic, a Toronto-based senior consultant with Global Public Affairs.

The new rules apply only to stores in regions that have been locked down, which currently includes the Toronto and Peel regions.

Retailers there may not let customers inside their stores, but they may offer delivery and curbside pickup between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m.

“I think in all likelihood, this current provision is likely to be temporary,” said Omar Yar Khan, national cannabis lead with Hill+Knowlton Strategies in Toronto.

“I think what this represents is an opportunity to retailers to once again prove to the (Ontario) government that they can be responsible when given this facility, and I think that’s going to be key.”

Khan believes there’s a “decent chance” that the Ontario government might permanently allow curbside pickup and delivery for cannabis stores after making more progress working through a long backlog of store license applications.

Ontario’s growing number of brick-and-mortar marijuana stores has taken a wild regulatory ride this year.

In early April, in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, privately owned retailers across the province got temporary permission to compete with the government-owned Ontario Cannabis Store’s delivery monopoly for the first time and also were able to offer curbside pickup outside the walls of their stores.

The end date for that allowance was extended multiple times, but delivery and curbside pickup were finally forbidden once again in late July as the pandemic eased.

The new rules for curbside pickup and delivery, posted online Sunday by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, are largely similar to the previous regulations.

However, the new rules permit delivery payments to be completed at the time of the delivery, rather than being completed in advance as required by the previous rules.

On Monday morning, High Tide, a major retailer based in Alberta, said its affected locations in the Toronto region were “fully and immediately compliant with the order” and were ready to offer curbside pickup and delivery services in short order.

Solomon Israel can be reached at solomon.israel@mjbizdaily.com