Medical cannabis dispensary owners in BC lose appeal of provincial fine

January 23, 2025 | Staff

The owners of an unlicensed cannabis store in Gibsons, BC, recently lost their appeal of a $118,919 fine from the BC government following a raid by the BC Community Safety Unit (CSU) of their unlicensed store in 2019.

The store owners, Michelle Sikora and Doug Sikora, first filed their petition in June 2024, seeking to have the CSU’s fine retracted. In addition, in 2020, Michelle Sikora sought to have all cannabis seized from their store by the CSU to be returned.

Although the BC government refused an application for the return of cannabis that had been seized, the fine, also called an administrative monetary penalty (AMP), was lowered to $105,873.86.

The petitioner’s argument was that, in part, the BC government’s actions violated their Charter rights. That first application was denied in 2021, with the provincial government finding that there was no evidence that Sikora had any valid licence or permit for the cannabis.

In December 2021, both petitioners were each issued a Notice of Administration Penalty (AMP) for $118,919.10. This amount was based on the estimated value of the seized cannabis, which was $54,459.55. The government calculates AMP penalties by doubling the value of seized material from a store operating without a provincial licence.

In January 2022, the couple challenged the monetary penalty by requesting an administrative hearing while furthering their Charter argument again, referencing the R v Smith case.

In June 2023, the deputy director of the CSU refined the administrative penalty, issuing the amount only to the corporate petitioner and not to each of the Sikoras individually. The director also rejected the petitioner’s claim that the CSU’s search and seizure was in violation of sections 7, 8, and 11 of the charter.

The new monetary penalty applied to the corporate petitioner was $105,873.86, based on the estimated retail value of the seized cannabis, which was $52,936.98.

In June 2024, the petitioners then filed a case at the bar seeking to retract the administrative penalty and again to have the seized cannabis returned.

The provincial government’s representatives again denied the merits of these arguments, seeking to have the petition denied in a filing in October 2024.

In her ruling, BC Supreme Court Justice Sandra Wilkinson wrote that the “presumed constitutionality” of Canada’s medical cannabis program meant alternatives to it are not allowed.

“I appreciate that the petitioners operated their business with the intent to benefit persons managing symptoms from a variety of medical conditions. They operated on a retail basis as an alternative to the federal scheme which requires medical cannabis to be obtained from a limited number of providers who must deliver their product by mail. However, given the presumed constitutionality of the legislative scheme, it is not open to the petitioners to offer an alternative and at the same time be compliant with the law.”