The Aurora Sun greenhouse and processing facility are seen in northwest Medicine Hat in this September file photo.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Moves to suspend activity at the Aurora Sun greenhouse in Medicine Hat follow nearly a year of official signals from the company that it will hold off commissioning the facility until demand for cannabis grows substantially.
At the same time, local officials categorized a full pullback this month as temporary based on their own discussions with the Edmonton-based pot producer.
“I spoke with the company and they assured me it is temporary, a pause in getting it up and running,” Mayor Ted Clugston told the News.
This week, multiple media reports state that shutdown at the partly complete facility would result in 30 layoffs and an “indefinite” suspension of “operations.”
In mid-November the News reported that the company had halted any new construction spending at the facility that had been originally slated to begin partial operations in June.
Recent “operations” likely involve work towards acquiring a federal cannabis production licence, not the production of cannabis.
Regardless, municipal officials who helped secure the company’s location of the facility with a package to forgive up to $6.3 million in development fees, said they hoped the suspension was temporary.
Clugston said the layoffs come at a difficult time.
Aurora reduced operations company wide, laid off staff and began selling off non-core assets in late 2019 as it attempted to post positive earnings this fall.
About 500 employees were laid off at the beginning of the year, and Aurora Cannabis announced in the spring financial update it would close a number of smaller growing facilities.
At present, the company relies on major production from Aurora Sky in Leduc. It has also said that in future, the large “Sky Class” facilities, like Aurora Sun, would give the company an advantage in low cost production while concentrating on marketing premium brand products.
“Aurora continuously and carefully reviews the company’s operations network to ensure it is fit for our business today and in the near term,” reads a widely circulated statement from the company send in response to queries from the News.
“In response to the recent shifts in the industry and our strategic imperatives, the company announced it will pause operations at Aurora Sun in Medicine Hat … indefinitely.”
“We remain focused on advancing our portfolio of premium and super premium brands and accelerating innovation in high margin product categories.”
In 2019 the company applied to the local planning commission to proceed with some operational work and staff training in temporary buildings on site ahead of the completion of the main greenhouse and initial processing facility.
Some contractors were sent home from the site in late 2019, but work on portions of the 1.6-million facility continued as the company slated June as a commissioning date for about one-sixth the facility. That date came and went, and in the company’s most recent financial statement it said capital spending had continued into the fall, but no new spending was planned until at least the new year.
