'I want to do it right': La Loche cannabis store owner says he wants to help community heal

The Saskatoon businessman who plans to open a recreational cannabis shop in La Loche, Sask., says he wants his store to play a role in the community's healing.

The 2,300-person northern village was struck by tragedy in January 2016 when a teenaged shooter killed two people in a local homethen went to his school, killed two more and injured seven others.

• La Loche, Sask., shooter apologizes as he gets life sentence, no parole eligibility for 10 years

It's also in a region of Saskatchewan marked by high suicide rates compared to the rest of Canada and drug abuse issues, which have prompted calls for more health services.

Clay Sparks, who won the chance to operate the province's northernmost legal pot shop in La Loche, said that in light of all the village's challenges, he doesn't want to be seen as "stacking on another problem."

"This has been very heavy on my mind and it bears very heavy on my heart," he said Thursday.

He said his store probably won't open until the spring of 2019, "just thinking about how this needs to and ought to play out responsibly and safely."

He has open it by Oct. 17, 2019 one year afterlegalization lest the province take his permit away.

Many offers to buy his permit

Logistical complexities partly account for the delay.

"There were shockingly little options" for where to locate his initial store while he builds a permanent one, Sparkssaid.

The location, 605 kilometres north of Saskatoon, means it could be difficult to keep prices low, which is important in a community where one in four people are unemployed.

Sparks said he has had some doubts about opening the business.

"I've had a few moments of looking up at the sky," he said.

He has also had "a lot" of offers to buy his permit. Still, he is pressing on with his plans.

He said he wants to help La Loche residents understand the effects of different cannabis strainsand perhaps even divert them from alcohol and hard drugs.

"Some can make you sleepy, some can make you happy, some can make you energized, some can make you take your pain away physical, mental," he said.

"There's all these different ways that I actually believe will be able to effect change in that community, but we need to do it responsibly."

Sparks will have to walk a delicate balance. Under provincial and federal laws, he can only educate his customers about the drug's effects, not make any recommendations about products.

"I use the analogy of: I can't exactly tell somebody when they walk into my liquor store, 'Try this White Owl whiskey. It's absolutely tremendous for fibromyalgia.' "

Mayor cites missed opportunity

Robert St. Pierre, the mayor of La Loche, said he knows Sparks has "good intentions."

"I think he wants to work with us, instead of working against us," St. Pierre said, adding that he's relieved the permit did not go to an out-of-province company.

Still, St. Pierre is frustrated that the village, alongside neighbouring Clearwater River Dene Nation, failed to secure La Loche's sole recreational cannabis permit.

St. Pierre said the provincial government should have given special consideration to interested Indigenous groups in northern communitiesduring the selection process that decided Saskatchewan's 51 future pot sellers.

"Since the shooting, the province has always said, 'Yeah, we're going to support you. Let us know what you need,'" said St. Pierre.

"The province had one opportunity to set something right, or make a good decision. And they didn't. They chose the direction that they did. We'll live with that. Once again, the province has done us a disservice, I think. Because we had a real opportunity for something to give back into the community."

A spokesperson for the Saskatchewan government's cabinet office said the government is aware of the village's concerns.

The government plans "to assess the effectiveness of the initial allocation of retail stores and may make additional opportunities available 12-18 months after legalization," the spokesperson added.

"We encourage municipalities that allowed cannabis stores to be established in their communities to work collaboratively with the successful proponents of the process."

Giving back

Sparks said that provided the store is successful, he's willing to help fund important community initiatives from his revenues.

"Some of that financial success needs to be going back into investing in that community," he said.

Sparks estimated his store will create eight to 12 jobs.

"I want to play a major role in the development and moving forward and some healing of the community of La Loche and I want to do this right with and for that community," he said.