Following a sombre press conference on Friday during which a frightened-looking premier Doug Ford predicted the death toll from COVID-19 in Ontario alone may range from 3,000 to 15,000, the province tightened the list of workplaces considered "essential," and stripped private REC retail of its "essential" designation.
CBC Toronto, Vice, MJ Biz Daily, BNN Bloomberg

• Ontario's 52 REC stores were required to close by 11:59 on Saturday night and remain closed for 14 days (with possibility of extension). The Ontario government changed course on Tuesday afternoon, not allowing in-person shopping, but permitting REC stores to reopen to offer click-and-collect order pick-up, and even allowing stores 14 days to offer same-day home delivery by qualified employees. (If you live and Ontario and want to buy cannabis, try calling your local REC store, checking out their website and social media posts to find out what options they've cobbled together.)
  AGCO, BNN Bloomberg
• Licensed producers may continue production operations.
  Twitter--@itsdgc

Along with REC stores, Ontario also removed "essential" designation from hardware stores and pet stores, saying those businesses would have to sell by delivery only.
National Post

Though the AGLC licensed 12 stores under the new open-market system in March, the Ontario government initially decided the only legal REC in the province would be purchased through the Ontario Cannabis Store website, which would have to be delivered by Canada Post.
Twitter--@MattPMaurer

• Canada Post had announced on March 17 it would no longer deliver cannabis to residents' homes (since this requires age verification). This forced OCS customers to line up for packages at post offices and postal counters (such as those in many Shoppers Drug Marts across Canada).
  MJ Biz Daily, Global News
• The OCS has seen increased sales as the pandemic has intensified, and recently paused a same-day delivery pilot project in the greater Toronto area that demand had overwhelmed.
  CTV News
• Former federal health minister Jane Philpott said the idea of closing REC retail "doesn't seem smart," since consumers will likely buy illicit cannabis without social distancing.
  Twitter--@JanePhilpott

Critics were annoyed state-owned Ontario Cannabis Store, from whom all REC stores must buy their inventory, is in competition with the REC stores the government ordered closed, and is offering deals to draw customers from the private REC sector.
Twitter--@StoicAdvisory, @Mollytime777

• Lawyer Trina Fraser worried the OCS will definitely survive the COVID crisis, but without delivery or click-and-collect, individual retailers might not.
  Twitter--@TrinaFraser

On Saturday, shoppers lined up in huge numbers ahead of the midnight deadline. As occurred when PEI shut down its liquor and REC stores, shoppers in line didn't all respect social distancing.
CBC Ottawa, CBC Waterloo, CTV, Twitter--@JohnnnnyHopkins

• My mother, in Ottawa, reported the line for the Superette ran three blocks and turned a corner, spanning two intersections.

Ontario joined Newfoundland and Nunavut in shifting REC retail to online portals only. REC retail remains on the list of essential services in Quebec, Alberta, and BC, as well as in several US states.
MJ Biz Daily, Financial Post

Many saw the public-health sense in closing REC stores. However, across the sector, insiders protested Ontario's initial refusal to legalize REC delivery or pick-up options, particularly given the government needed only to amend regulations as they had already with rules governing alcohol delivery. (Ontario adopted "Temporary Measures to Support Bars, Restaurants and Alcohol Retailers.")
Twitter--@G_Smitherman, @CCC_Cannabis, @TrinaFraser, @dycktionary

• Ontario is home to nearly half Canada's population, and the Ontario Cannabis Store recently temporarily suspended its same-day and overnight REC delivery pilot project due to overwhelming demand.
• Additionally, the initial reclassification prevented stores from offering click-and-collect service (which BC fast-tracked into legality last week in order to discourage foot-shopping). By contrast, hardware stores and pet stores could offer curbside pickup.
  Daily Hive, MJ Biz Daily, CTV News
• Inside the industry, some argued cashless click-and-collect options reduced risk to employees and customers, while delivery (by drivers properly equipped with PPE) would be ideal for pandemic REC retail.
  National Post, GrowthOp, Twitter--@MattPMaurer
• The OCS announced Sunday it is waiving shipping fees, and for customers who don't want to pick their packages up at the post office, offering three-day-delivery through private operator Domain Express.
  OCS, GrowthOp

In a surprising about-face, the Ontario government approved an emergency order not only allowing retailers to continue click-and-collect sales, but allowing them--for 14 days--to deliver their products to customers (provided delivery people have received the provincial CannSell training). For 14 days, retailers will compete with the OCS's usual monopoly on delivery.
BNN Bloomberg

• The bill was signed into law on Tuesday afternoon, allowing REC retailers to again offer click-and-collect services online or by phone. Retailers who want to offer delivery services will have to figure out how to do so quickly.

REC delivery is only fully legally available in two mid-population provinces--Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Critics wonder why delivery isn't also available in Alberta (and other provinces) if REC is "essential" and delivery could reduce indoor crowding.
Calgary Herald

Prior to the news Ontario would allow REC delivery, many worried about how REC retail would survive, particularly those stores that worked so hard to open but might not reopen without access to the stimulus funds being withheld by the Business Development Bank of Canada.
Twitter--@dycktionary, @InfosecIvy, @PRx20302981, @JamesonBerkow, WeedWeek

• The Laurentian Bank optimistically predicted the last few weeks' worth of "pantry-loading" should help balance REC stores not being able to operate for two weeks. Though Laurentian also noted 90% of legal REC sales are through physical stores, versus 10% online.
  Twitter--@JeffLagerquist

Many also wondered: what about inventory? REC stores bought inventory from the OCS at a 35% markup expecting an increased demand for those products. Shouldn't they be allowed to return them--particularly since that will help prevent a supply shortage?
Twitter--@GoBlueCdn, @SarahSeale18, @JoVos

Toronto unlicensed dispensary chain CAFE, remembered for its flagrant refusal to shut down last summer, announced they'll be remaining open, but argued they were taking plenty of safety precautions.
NewsWire

At Alderville First Nation, as well as at Oneida Nation of the Thames, on-Reserve dispensaries have been ordered shut by Chief and Council. Oneida Nation on Thames banned entry by non-residents, since like many Reserves in Ontario, the Nation attracts visitors from all over with its tax-free gas, cigarettes, and cannabis.
Global News, London Free Press

After spending last week being criticised for refusing to disperse COVID stimulus funds to cannabis companies, the Business Development Bank of Canada announced it had expanded its range of elligible entities to allow cannabis companies (and bars) access to the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), and the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Loan and Guarantee program.
The Star, BDC

• The CEBA offers loans up to $40,000--without interest for the first year--to small businesses who need help with their operating costs.
• SME Loan and Guarantee offers up to $6.25M in credit.

As before, however, the funds are only available to "eligible companies"--and though the BDC has loosened its eligibility requirements, it hasn't opened them wide.
MJ Biz Daily

• Both programs may only be accessed through banks, which is a significant obstacle, given how few banks are willing to work with cannabis companies.
  Twitter--@C0URTLANDS, Global News, Financial Post
• The CEBA is only open to companies with payroll expenses for 2019 between $50,000 and $1M.
  Twitter--@Spearster55
• Additionally, companies must be able to prove "they would have been able to handle a loan before the coronavirus hit," while due to federal limits on cannabis possession, LPs may not be able to provide inventory as collateral.
  Twitter--@GoBlueCdn, @TrinaFraser

After pressure from across the industry, Public Safety Canada included "cannabis for medical purposes" among its list of federally designated "Guidance on Essential Services and Functions in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic." MED advocates and sector representatives celebrated.
MJ Biz Daily, Twitter--@jon_zaid, @_deepakanand, @CCC_cannabis, @G_Smitherman

• Having determined MED is federally essential, advocates wondered when Ottawa will remove excise taxes from MED and introduce MED cost-coverage to public health insurance.
  Twitter--@ErinEGratton, @RCapler

Last week, I mentioned WeedMD's production staff may be the first in the sector to unionize. That union began pushing for improved health and safety standards at WeedMD's London, ON production facility, 18 of whose employees are self-isolating due to recent travel or proximity to people sick with COVID-19.
London Free Press

• In a letter to management, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Canada (UFCW) argued workers needed expanded access to masks, PPEs, hand sanitizer, and staggered shift times to reduce crowding.
• Following the letter, a union rep reported the company had taken several steps, including spacing workers, removing chairs from break rooms, and offering additional hand-sanitizing and hand-washing options.

The virus is taking its toll across the sector:

Manitoba LP Delta 9 is offering retail and production staff an additional $2 per hour "grateful pay" for their work during the crisis.
GrowthOp

Though early-pandemic sales booms for REC retail were an optimistic sign for some, US sales have begun to drop off dramatically.
Nasdaq

One thing the COVID crisis probably won't change is insurance--at least, not for the time being. However, Fuse Insurance CEO Kevin Lea noted increased REC delivery vehicles in some places will be offset by the number of other cars not on the road. (He warned REC retailers that non-pandemic-related risks like cyber breaches remain constant during crises like COVID.)
Insurance Business

• This is US-based advice on how to manage a cannabis company during the COVID crisis, but there's information here useful to Canadian operators.
  GreenEntrepreneur
• Audits for Canadian facilities seeking EU Good Manufacturing Practice certification are basically on hold for the time being due to COVID-related travel restrictions.
  MJ Biz Daily

Toronto's famous 4,000-pound concrete blocks--which the city used, to varying effect, to barricade access to scofflaw dispensaries last summer--have found a new job in the crisis. The blocks will now be used to encourage social distancing: they've been installed at the entrances of parking lots of popular areas.
Global News, CBC Toronto, DailyHive, BlogTO

As far back as last fall, insiders have been warning this year would be marked by a series of bankruptcies. This week began to seem like the beginning of that wave.
Twitter--@TheCannalysts, Bloomberg, Financial Post, CanTechLetter, CBC Ottawa, Bloomberg

• When CannTrust, once the country's ninth largest licensed producer, was granted creditor protection last week, it was the largest LP to declare bankruptcy, but not the first. (Chatham, Ontario's AgMedica, which sought protection in December, might be the earliest, but I'm not certain.)
  Financial Post, Grizzle, Chatham Daily News
• CannTrust likely chose bankruptcy protection over the prospect of losing several class-action lawsuits.
• The New York Stock Exchange delisted CannTrust, calling it "no longer suitable for listing," making CannTrust the first publicly traded Canadian pot company to get booted from a major exchange.
  MJ Biz Daily, Torkin Manes Blog

One day after CannTrust, mid-sized Kitchener-Waterloo LP James E. Wagner Cultivation sought creditor protection and announced a "consensual restructuring" supported by Trichome Financial.
MJ Biz Daily, NewsWire

• The next day, BC LP True Leaf Brands filed a stay of proceedings by its creditors, announcing its intention to file for bankruptcy.
  Yahoo Finance

On Friday, Canopy temporarily laid off 200 retail employees, but reopened some of its REC stores --  Tokyo Smoke and Tweed -- with reduced hours and a click-and-collect model. Canopy initially closed all 23 of its company-owned stores to encourage social distancing.
BNN Bloomberg

This week, Organigram announced it had temporarily laid off 400 staff in a 45% reduction to its workforce. The company said it wished to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 among staff.

• Materia Ventures CEO Deepak Anand said Organigram is providing laid-off staff "significant financial benefits including lump-sum payments to bridge income gaps left by government assistance, and absorbing employee portions of health, dental, and short-term disability premiums."
  Twitter--@_deepakanand
• Analysts Jeffries predicted other LPs would follow Organigram in temporarily cutting staff, prompting production reductions that may recreate supply shortages.
  Twitter--@jefflagerquist

Layoffs are ongoing across other sectors as well, but a carefree few weeks ago the sector was already foundering.
Twitter--@reporton, Maclean's

Many cannabis executives spent the winter leaving their positions of their own accord, or being forced out by boards who felt they invested too much in greenhouses, ignored customers and product quality, and focused too little on profitability.
MJ Biz Daily

• Executive compensation is becoming a point of contention. Last week, Cronos reported $7.3M in quarterly revenue--yet executives were paid a combined $18M last year, during which MJ Biz Daily's Matt Lamers pointed out they fell dramatically short of their 2019 targets for Net Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA & Production Volume. "That should weigh heavily on any compensation and accolades that were due for the company's executives," Lamers said. "Why else are they in business?"
  Twitter--@matt_lamers

Ousted Canopy's co-founder/CEO Bruce Linton predicted capital will be hard to come by for some time, making companies with significant war chests (he cited Canopy, Cronos, and Aphria) better-suited to weather the coming shortage.
BNN Bloomberg

Lift & Co announced a strategic partnership with events organizer MCI USA, which will take over "operational control" of Lift & Co events. The company pushed its summertime Toronto trade show back into November.
Globe Newswire

Between Canopy's January decision to delay the rollout of its beverages and the rising challenge of COVID-19, cannabis beverages haven't had much opportunity to find their footing in the REC market.
MarketWatch, Beverage Daily

• The first beverage products didn't begin arriving in Canadian stores until March. Canopy finally began releasing its beverages--mostly containing no more than 2mg THC, priced at $5.79 per can-- in Quebec roughly three weeks ago. They've since arrived in Ontario as well. I saw my first discarded Tweed can in the street last weekend.
  CBC Manitoba, Newswire
• Beverages themselves remain largely scarce as consumers hoard dry flower and vape products for the uncertain weeks ahead. Companies haven't yet had much chance to determine how consumers feel about their offerings.
  Green Entrepreneur
• A remaining obstacle is Health Canada's bizarre equivalency ratios, under which consumers can only buy a limited number of cans (in BC it's five) at a time, meaning they can't buy more than 10mg worth of THC per personal beverage order.
  Twitter--@KirkTousaw

Many companies are planning to bring beverages to market in the future--particularly CBD beverages, which many LPs are eager to sell.
Hemp Industry Daily

In the most surreal story of the week, both High Tide and Choom released the same press release, attributing an identical quote to High Tide president and CEO Raj Grover and to Choom CEO Corey Gillon.
Twitter--@GoBlueCdn, Stockwatch, Newswire

• BC's Choom and Alberta's High Tide are unrelated, but Aurora has made significant strategic investments into both. Commentators suspected the two companies used the same publicist.
  Grizzle, Twitter--@JessMMMoran
  

Quick Hits

1. Various users noted social-media site Reddit had geoblocked access to its r/CanadianMOMs messageboard, a discussion and review forum about illicit mail-order-marijuana websites. Those accessing the messageboard from Canada receive a warning the content has been "restricted in your country in response to a legal request."
   Twitter--@WhatsMyPot, Reddit

2. Hexo co-founder, director, and former Chief Brand Officer pledged $10,000 to the Ottawa Food Bank during the COVID crisis, and tagged the Wu Tang Clan, as you do. The Wu came through with a donation of their own. At last count, the drive had raised over $170,000 for the food bank.
   Twitter--@adammiron, CTV News

3. Storz & Bickel's Volcano Medic 2 vaporizer received a Medical Device Licence from Health Canada.
   Cannabis Life Network