The only licensed producer of medical marijuana in Atlantic Canada, OrganiGram based in Moncton, is about to get a lot of green from the provincial government.
Wednesday, Premier Brian Gallant announced New Brunswick is investing up to $990,000 in the company.
“We are very happy to and pleased to be supporting OrganiGram and their creation of 113 jobs,” Gallant said before touring the facility.
Gallant said the funding will be in the form of wage subsidies that will be paid out over the next three years as the new positions are created.
The jobs created — such as production workers — will have a starting wage of about $16 an hour and up, according to OrganiGram’s CEO Denis Arsenault.
“There are lab technicians, chemists, biologists that will be hired. With this expansion of our laboratory we will be able to take all the testing we currently send to Ontario and have it done in house creating jobs for New Brunswick,” said Arsenault
OrganiGram currently employs 43 full time staff and is going through a major expansion with construction well underway.
“The expansion is almost another 15,000 square feet which will almost double our capacity to around $25 million a year in productions,” said Arsenault.
He says the provincial investment will create jobs and allow them to grow capital funding for future expansions. The company hopes that in about two years they’ll be able to hire even more people, if and when marijuana is legalized in Canada.
“There is no question the legislation is coming and being the only licensed producer in Atlantic Canada fortunately here in New Brunswick, we want to make those investments to create economic development here in New Brunswick,” said Arsenault.
“We believe that there is also potential for businesses like this one and others in New Brunswick that could also benefit from economic opportunities that legalization of marijuana represent,” Gallant said.
The expansion should be complete sometime in November with the new hires planned for sometime in July.
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