After the provincial government received roughly 1,350 submissions for cannabis retail stores in Saskatchewan, 17 of the 51 permits were shared between just five different companies.
That means one-third percent of stores legally selling cannabis in the province will belong to five companies, despite there being 270 times more submissions to run a store. Proponents had one chance at a permit in a lottery in each municipality, according to Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority Minister Gene Makowsky.
“It was a random process, random draw and that’s what came out of the draw,” said Makowsky, who added the process is like a home lottery or and lottery system used to determine draft orders in pro sports.
“It’s not always what the numbers might entail. So again, random draw, transparent process,” Makowsky said.
KPMG accounting oversaw the lottery and is to release a fairness report on the process next week.
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