Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister is moving up his government's annual throne speech to next Wednesday and is promising to break through any more opposition stalling tactics that might arise.

"We're quite prepared to go to the wall to get our issues brought forward and action taken," Pallister said in an interview Thursday.

The throne speech is normally staged in mid-November to lay out the government's agenda for the coming year. And October is used to pass any legislation left over from the spring.

But this year has not been normal.

The Opposition New Democrats used procedural tactics for several days in the spring to delay the introduction of the budget and stall dozens of bills from being debated.

Legal recreational cannabis is beginning to gain ground in its fight against the illicit market, according to new Ontario Cannabis Store data.

A report released by the provincial pot distributor Wednesday revealed that between April and June, legal sources of cannabis made up 25.1 per cent of the total market, an increase from 24.7 per cent in the previous quarter.

The average price of dried flower per gram on OCS.ca fell to $7.05 including taxes during the same period, beating the average price of cannabis on sale through illegal mail-order marijuana sites, which reached $7.98.

"This quarter marks a milestone for the sector on the critical front of pricing," said chief commercial officer Cheri Mara in the report.

Three suspected motorcycle gang members are facing charges after Cape Breton police raided multiple homes and a clubhouse in Glace Bay.

Cannabis is safer than alcohol.

How much so?

According to at least one peer reviewed study the cannabis plant is 114 times safer than alcohol.

In fact, the cannabis plant is safer than many substances that are common around households across the globe.

With that being said, that is not the same as saying that cannabis does not have any side effects.

The cannabis plant can definitely cause side effects, albeit effects that are not as detrimental compared to those caused by other substances.

The list of the cannabis plant’s side effects very notably does not include death, however, there are still certain side effects that consumers need to know about.

On September 1, the AGCO announced the Government of Ontario’s direction to double the pace of cannabis Retail Store Authorizations (RSA) beginning this fall, from 20 to 40 per month.

The results are in from more than two months of public consultations by Health Canada regarding cannabis health products, with more than 60 per cent of respondents indicating that they would be interested in such items.

The Ontario Cannabis Store says Thomas Haig has been appointed interim president and chief executive.

The provincial pot distributor says Haig was chosen because of his experience in retail and logistics that he earned while in key positions at Hudson's Bay Co., Zellers, Giant Tiger and Danier.

Haig succeeds Cal Bricker, who took a leave from being the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp's senior vice-president of horse racing to lead the OCS a year ago.

The OCS says Bricker is moving on from his role at the organization, but did not specify what he has planned next.

In the coming months, Haig will oversee distribution to new retail stores.

A group advocating on behalf of municipalities and some First Nations across B.C. wants the province to share its cannabis excise tax revenue.

The Union of B.C. Municipalities' outgoing president Maja Tait said Friday that 99 per cent of the group's 189 members voted in favour of seeking a portion of the revenue this week at a convention.

The excise cannabis tax is paid by licensed cannabis producers when their products are delivered to a retailer or customer and the federal government retains 25 per cent of the money up to $100 million a year.

The remaining 75 per cent is given to provinces and territories, which have the option to pass it along to municipalities.

A new healthcare technology company, Cannalogue, is launching a petition in their native land of Canada to get the Ministries of Health on board with providing national healthcare coverage for medical cannabis. 

Cannabis retailers are starting to prepare for the reality of no longer being the only game in town.

Sherri Graham is the general manager of 10 Cannabis Supply Co. locations in the province — one of them on Niagara Parkway in Fort Erie that started serving THC products over the counter on Aug. 24.

Since 2016, the company served medicinal customers as a telemedicine clinic, which the Fort Erie store also did prior to becoming a full-service dispensary for recreational users last month.

It has plans to open a location in Niagara Falls around mid-December, and another in St. Catharines in early 2021, said Graham.

Currently the lone licensed store in Fort Erie, a town of 30,000 people, they could have some company from the same industry nearby soon.