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Organigram CEO criticizes Budget 2024 for ignoring cannabis industry needs

“Organigram is very disappointed that Deputy Prime Minister Freeland did not announce a review of the cannabis excise framework in Budget 2024,” said Beena Goldenberg, CEO of Organigram Inc., a federally licensed producer of cannabis products with facilities in Moncton, Lac-Supérieur and Winnipeg.

Goldenberg noted that, “Canada’s federally licensed cannabis producers struggle to compete with aggressive illicit suppliers, who continue to operate with relative impunity and who are not subject to any regulatory regime.” She also noted that “the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance and Health Canada’s Expert Panel on the Legislative Review of the Cannabis Act both recognized these pressures and recommended that Finance Canada rework the excise framework.  We simply don’t understand why the federal government ignored these recommendations.”

“The Federal Government has ignored the needs of the sector and jeopardized its ability to compete with illicit suppliers,” explained Goldenberg, adding, “Lowering the excise rate so that it is limited to a 10 per cent ad valorem rate and amending the onerous excise stamping requirements will free up much needed capital to allow Canada’s nascent cannabis sector to deliver on the public policy objectives of cannabis legalization to keep profits out of the hands of criminals, and to keep kids safe.”