Lender to fund container pot shops on Canadian indigenous lands – BNNBloomberg.ca

A Canadian lender to indigenous people is planning to fund cannabis stores on First Nations lands where it says communities haven’t reaped the economic benefit from the drug’s legalization.

Bridging Finance Inc. is starting with a store on the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba, according to chief executive officer David Sharpe. His firm is working with Popcann, which fashions pot stores from old shipping containers, and the pair are in talks to replicate the model in indigenous communities in North America.

“For me it’s a fairness issue. We’re lobbying the Ontario government to come up with more licenses,” said Sharpe, a member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. “We often say the cannabis economy is the new buffalo, so we don’t want to miss the boat.

Read More: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/lender-to-fund-container-pot-shops-on-canadian-indigenous-lands-1.1300446