Mr. Speaker, I rise today to applaud the Honourable Minister of Justice for taking real action on cannabis and actually getting out and starting to do this work. It's a bit late, but we're making progress.
Other provinces are also making progress, Mr. Speaker. Recently the Ontario government announced it will create a Cannabis Control Board and open up 60 store fronts in the first year to manage the sale and distribution of cannabis products in the province, while privatized cannabis dispensaries in Ontario will be shut down over the next 12 months.
Now, I wouldn't recommend the Minister take this approach; it's been very controversial, and this monopolization of the entire industry has not been well received in a positive light by the public. We need to create real opportunities with cannabis production in Canada. Once it is legal, our country will be facing a huge supply issue and, further, as other countries across the world open up cannabis markets either through medical or commercial production, Canada can plug that gap, which is why it's essential that the North has the opportunity to play in that market.
New Brunswick recently announced a multi-million dollar deal with a pair of federally licensed marijuana producers, OrganiGram Holdings and Canopy Growth Corp. This new deal is worth $90 million of cannabis production, and at the end of this deal both companies saw their stock increase 2 per cent and 16 per cent by the end of the day that the announcement was made. There's clearly growth in this area, Mr. Speaker.
Furthermore, the New Brunswick government has set up a Crown corporation to have clear oversight on how recreational cannabis will be sold, but will not run a retail operation, instead counting upon other entities, the private sector and entrepreneurs, to do it. This public/private model is an ideal fit for the North's needs to both further economic diversification and ensure that Northerners have access to safe, legal product, and will allow us to compete in an explosive market for something that not only Canadians but the world wants.
Mr. Speaker, it's time for us to assist in the creation of real opportunities surrounding this new cannabis industry, and not just solely capitalize on them as a source of revenue. It's time to let northern entrepreneurs take the lead on this file. I hope the Minister agrees with me. I'll have questions for him later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.