A tweak to the rules governing store configurations could make Ontario’s enclosed shopping malls more welcoming for cannabis retailers. The provincial government is currently seeking public input on a handful of proposed regulatory amendments that are presented as a means to “reduce regulatory burden” on licensed cannabis retailers and mitigate their financial losses when they close a store.

Under current rules, a licensed cannabis retailer can operate in a shopping mall provided the space is completely enclosed within walls that separate it from all other commercial establishments and interconnect only with the mall’s common area. In practice, that has prevented cannabis stores from occupying spaces with connections to rear hallways, employee service spaces and/or loading docks.

“This limits retailers’ choices for retail locations and creates barriers to market entry,” states the explanatory text posted on Ontario’s regulatory registry.

The amendment would clarify that only customer-facing areas need to be kept separate from other commercial establishments. Other proposed new rules would allow a new owner of an existing outlet to assume the previous operator’s retail store authorization and enable the transfer or sale of inventory between two licensed retailers.

Under current rules, the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation has the exclusive right to sell inventory to a licensed cannabis retailer. The Alcohol and Gaming Corporation of Ontario specifies how retailers are to dispose of their unsold inventory when they relinquish their licences and close down operations, but the proposed new rules would give them flexibility to sell some of their stock to other licensed retailers.

In cases where a new proprietor who is a licensed cannabis retailer acquires their operations, they’d also be able to transfer their retail store authorization. In that scenario currently, incoming proprietors have to apply anew.

The public can comment on the proposed new rules until May 9th.