Service Standards for Screening and Review of New Applications and Amendments for Cultivation, Processing and Sale for Medical Purposes Licences under the Cannabis Act and its Regulations

Disclaimer: Information on this webpage is provided for illustrative purposes only. The Cannabis Act and its Regulations should be relied upon for specific requirements, including if there are discrepancies between this page and the Cannabis Act and its Regulations.

Service Description:

Health Canada posts service standards and performance information for services with over 100 regulatory authorizations, such as permits or licences, issued each year (high-volume regulatory transactions).

The Cannabis Act and its regulations provide a legal framework for the possession, production, distribution and sale of cannabis in Canada.

Under this framework, a person is required to obtain a licence issued by Health Canada in order to conduct various activities with cannabis. In addition, licence holders are responsible for compliance with the Cannabis Act, its regulations, and with other applicable federal, provincial and territorial legislation and municipal by-laws.

Refer to the following legislation and guidance to support the application process to become a licence holder under the Cannabis Act and its Regulations:

Applications are submitted through the electronic Cannabis Tracking and Licensing System (CTLS).

After a new licence application is submitted in the CTLS, it is processed through the following steps:

Health Canada also reviews requests by licence holders to make changes or amendments to their licence through the CTLS, such as applications for:

The grounds for refusal to issue, renew, or amend a licence are found under subsection 62(7) of the Cannabis Act.

The relevant cost recovery fees associated with licence application screening under the Cannabis Act and its regulations were established by the Cannabis Fees Order. The Cannabis Fees Order Guide provides guidance on the interpretation of the Cannabis Fees Order and fee payment procedures.

Service Standards:

Health Canada commits to the following non-binding administrative service standards:

The time the application is with the applicant or licence holder for additional required information does not count towards the service standard.

Performance Target:

The target for achieving these standards is set at 75%.

Performance results in fiscal year 2020-2021:

In 2020-2021:

* Updates to CTLS were made in July 2020 to allow performance results to be tracked for amendments received by Health Canada as of that date. Results reflect regulatory decisions made from January 1 to March 31, 2021.  In the next fiscal year (2021-2022), results will cover the entire reporting cycle.

Departmental Contact:

Please contact the Cannabis Licensing and Medical Access Directorate to make any general inquiries or comments:

Cannabis Licensing and Medical Access Directorate
Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch
Health Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0K9
E-mail: licensing-cannabis-licences@hc-sc.gc.ca

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