Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to our witnesses for being with us today.
My questions will be for Mr. Potestio about the cannabis industry.
In my community and riding there are a lot of unregulated stores that have popped up. We're really dealing with what this looks like in the community. We're thinking about exposure for children and all these other pieces.
There's a company in Fredericton called RPC, which does a lot of the testing of cannabis from across the country, and they can confirm that regulated cannabis products are free of heavy metals, pesticides and other harmful residues. It's part of the peace of mind for consumers when they go to buy these products. I would assume they are associating some of those elevated costs with the safety piece that's there.
The cannabis industry is relatively newly regulated and involves products that the government has indicated are therapeutic, but there are also some negative effects for Canadians to consider. In your view, and in your experience with the licensing process and getting your company up and running, did that process find an appropriate balance between public health and safety and the ease of doing business?