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Cannabis production facility coming to Brooks

Jul 19, 2018 | 10:20 AM

 

BROOKS, AB – The City of Brooks will soon be home to a medical cannabis production and processing facility.

In a news release sent on Thursday, the city announced Natural Health Alliance Inc. is planning to build and operate the facility, and it will be located in the South Industrial Park.

Mayor Barry Morishita says discussions between the two sides have been ongoing over the past several months.

“I think the city, and our CAO Alan Martens did a great job explaining what Brooks as a city and as a county can do to make the opportunity more attractive for them,” he said over the phone from Calgary, adding he was pleased the company chose Brooks.

Ken Faulkner, CEO and co-founder of Natural Health Alliance, said they were looking for a city to build a flagship facility for its company.

“We wanted to get the backing of a community that was in support of creating a lot of jobs and having some common goals in economic development,” he said over the phone from Edmonton.

The release states the first phase of the construction will consist of a 30,000 square foot facility, which will be a science and research hub used to advance the study of cannabis.

Morishita says that aspect will likely have an impact on the city’s economy, noting the city has many workers in the agriculture, aquaponics and horitculture industries who skills would be useful.

“NHA has committed to doing a lot of research on the medical side, and developing a lot of new product on the medical side, and I believe that will create a lot of professional and research opportunities, and we certainly have the people and skills to do that, and I think that’s a really exciting component for how their business plan will look in our community.”

The building can also be expanded to create a complex that’s between 1.5 and 2 million square feet.

The release says there will be approximately 70 permanent jobs once the building in completed. There’s no word yet on when construction will begin.