Brian McElroy doesn’t seem worried about tripping over red tape when he applies for a licence to grow industrial hemp this year.
Last year, his licence from Health Canada didn’t arrive until late May, forcing him to seed the crop in June. If the licence had come much later, the farmer from Darlingford, Man., would have had to pull hemp from his roster of crops.
“It would have been nice to have had the licence at least four weeks earlier,” he said when interviewed last summer.
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Bureaucratic red tape was among the reasons cited for the delay in getting licences into growers’ hands. It was almost spring before Ottawa announced it would license farmers to grow the crop last year. Those who applied for licences found themselves wondering whether they would get it in time for seeding.
Since then, Health Canada has improved the flow of licence applications. McElroy, a registered seed grower, believes those changes will eliminate many of the headaches that arose last year.
For one thing, Health Canada plans to have applications reviewed within 10 working days of receiving them. The onus is still on the growers, however, to ensure all necessary documents are included with their applications.
As well, Health Canada began taking applications in late December, giving growers a chance to apply well in advance of the growing season.
“We’ve already issued licences this year, so we’re ahead of the game,” said Niels Hansen-Trip, manager of the industrial hemp regulation program.
So far Health Canada has had 50 applications from across Canada.
Licensing is needed because hemp is a member of the same cannabis family of plants as marijuana. Anyone growing hemp has to clear a police check. Unlike marijuana, hemp’s THC levels are too low to have intoxicating effects.
