When April 1st rolled around, we were supposed to have 25 retail stores, selling marijuana in the province.
Instead, we had just 10, and only one of those was in Toronto.
But as part of the agreement the operators signed into when they won their licence, they risked loosing money, if they didn't open on time.
Today, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario announced they were flexing their muscle and enforcing the rules.
It's not a fine, but more of a punishment for 12 of the applicants. Still, $12,500 dollars is being pulled from their $50,000 line of credit.
They're now on the clock.
If the doors don't open by April 15th, they'll lose another $12,500. If they still can't open by April 30th, the penalty rises to $25,000.
However, that's as severe as it can get. Applicants won't be losing their licences for not opening.
The penalties are intended to light a fire under th applicants, in hopes of getting more stores open.
And it's not all black and while.
Amari in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood, opened late, but didn't have to pay any sort of penalty. The AGCO determined that there were "where extraneous factors resulted in delays that were determined to be outside of their control."