A private retailer has been given a cannabis selling licence after what he felt was a slow and delayed process.

The retailer, John, told the Star Monday afternoon he was notified he had received his licence from the licensing board earlier that day.

He is looking to open Ninetails Cannabis Inc. at 204 Main St. in Whitehorse. This is the location of Sage Brush Shoes, which is closing.

He preferred that his last name not be published.

He said he received a letter from the Yukon Liquor Corp., adding it was delivered out of the blue.

“I had no indication that it was coming,” he said.

He figured the heightened attention to his application could have helped, as his concerns were outlined in Monday’s Star, but he does not know for sure. He is happy with the result, as he has received what he wanted.

This brought a more-than two-month process to an end.

John filed for his licence on March 29, and the process was completed on April 5.

The next step was a four-week public-input period which ended May 6.

After the four weeks passed, John reached out to the liquor corporation.

He was told the licensing board had met to discuss his application. Yet there were no results, comments nor timelines to share.

He decided to inquire again a week later. This time, he opted to send a letter directly to the licensing board. It’s an independent entity, made up of five people.

He received an email response from the board secretary, who acknowledged receipt. That said, he did not receive any response regarding his inquiry.

With the lack of information from the board, and the unexplained length of time the process was taking, John said, some of his investors began wondering if they should pursue alternative ventures instead of a store in Whitehorse.

A week later, he sent the board another letter to which there was no response.

He received the licence not long after.

“I’m happy with the result, but communication is wanting, for sure,” John said.

The Star was told no one from the board was available to comment for Monday’s story.

John figured the process took nine months to complete.

He said his focus will now be turned to getting his outlet up and running.

He will be dealing with the City of Whitehorse to finish the regulatory stages in this process, such as acquiring the appropriate business licence.

He has already initiated this process, and expects to it to be completed by the end of the week.

John hopes to have Ninetails open by Aug. 1, feeling this is an optimistic but realistic date.

He feels that both the liquor corporation and the board should think about improving or developing a communication and correspondence policy.

He feels this would help future applicants as well as retailers looking to renew their cannabis licences. This helps, as it would set out what these parties should expect and would remove ambiguity from the process, he said.

Overall, he said he is happy, adding his dealings with the liquor corporation have been positive.

“Generally I am satisfied,” he said.