
The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is hoping to boost sales and safe access to legal cannabis with an online presence, according to a request for expressions of interest (RFEI) posted on its open contracts site.
Currently, the Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission (NTLCC) operates a sales portal on its website but sales are low compared to sales from the five private retail locations in the territory. Like most other provinces and territories, the NTLCC controls the flow of inventory and licensing in the Northwest Territories, but the organization is looking for another business to take over the online side and improve mail-order sales.
There are many forms a business like this can take. The GNWT suggested that a business owner could sell and fulfill orders of products purchased from the NTLCC out of their own warehouse or directly from the NTLCC. It could be an existing retailer with an e-commerce platform, or a business strictly dedicated to mail-order—the sky appears to be the limit, as long as the website is restricted to people under 19 years old, won’t sell to certain restricted postal codes, and respects 30 gram transaction limits. Of course, all cannabis products would have to be purchased through the NTLCC, but other products like apparel, accessories, food, and beverages could be sold and sourced from other suppliers.
The deadline to submit expressions of interest is Aug. 18.
