Nanaimo’s mayor says marijuana industry a boon to town’s economy

WATCH: A new report says the city of Nanaimo is reaping the economic benefits of the new medicinal pot industry. Kylie Stanton reports.

The mayor of Nanaimo says his city is rolling in the dough from a new medical marijuana facility opened by Tilray a year ago

“It’s just a whole new industry, and there are a lot more of those industries coming, at least we hope so, to Nanaimo.”

McKay says the city has just approved an expansion of the plant, which will let Tilray grow from 50,000 to 250,000 square feet. Currently 115 people are employed at the plant, and Tilray has plans to hire 275 more.

Nanaimo’s embrace of a large-scale production facility stands in contrast to Maple Ridge, where residents are opposing a proposed 40,000 square foot greenhouse that is awaiting approval by Health Canada.

READ MORE: Proposed industrial-scale marijuana greenhouse raises ire in Maple Ridge

He says one of the reasons Nanaimo’s plant has been embraced by virtually everyone is its location in Duke Point, surrounded by other industry and far from residential neighbourhoods.

“It was specifically named as the only zone that such a plant could go in to…it was absolutely ideal,” he says.