We use cookies for certain features and to improve your experience. See our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy to learn more

Leafly

Shop legal, local weed.

Open
advertise on Leafly
ShopDeliveryDispensariesDealsStrainsBrandsProductsCBDDoctorsCannabis 101Social impact
  • Sign in
  • Create account
  • Strains
  • Shop
  • Shop
  • Delivery
  • Deals
  • Dispensaries
  • CBD Stores
  • Brands
  • Products
  • Learn
  • Cannabis 101
  • News
  • Leafly Learn
  • Science of cannabis
  • Doctors
  • Social impact
  • Lab partners
  • Download the Leafly App
  • Advertise on Leafly
    • Leafly.comUSA flag
    • Leafly.caCanadian flag
    • Leafly.deGerman flag
  • Help
  • News
  • Lifestyle
  • Strains & products
  • Industry
  • Growing
  • Health
  • Science & tech
  • Leafly USA
  • Podcasts
  • Learn
CanadaIndustryPolitics

After Returning to Regular Hours, Quebec SQDC Workers Vote to Strike

Jesse B. StaniforthPublished on June 17, 2019 · Last updated July 28, 2020
montreal
R.M. Nunes/Leafly

Unionized workers at one of three branches of the Société Québécoise du Cannabis (SQDC) on the Island of Montreal have voted for a strike mandate, saying they want better wages, paid holidays, and bonuses.Join the Leafly Canada CommunityWorkers at the Quebec Crown corporation are paid in a manner commensurate with other employees in the retail industry, and so earn $14 per hour, just above the provincial minimum wage of $12.50. However, because they are provincial employees, workers are also enrolled in a retirement program and receive social services available to other employees of the Crown.

The 21 unionized workers at the Rosemont-Petite Patrie SQDC location say that because they require specialized training (Quebec’s 20-hour course is five times longer than Ontario’s) and are tasked with determining whether customers are impaired, they should be paid more handsomely than other retail workers.

Antonio Filato, president at United Food and Commercial Workers Quebec, noted that the salaries of SQDC executives are on par with salaries of SAQ directors and other Crown corporations.

“For leaders,” Filato said, “their salaries are comparable to other Crown corporations, but for workers, their salaries are comparable to other domains,” like the low-wage retail sector.

The SQDC was developed as an offshoot of Crown wine and spirits agency the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ), whose union fought strenuously against the SQDC being separated into its own agency. At the time, representatives of the Syndicat des employé-es de magasin et de bureau de la SAQ (SEMB) called the decision to split the SQDC from the SAQ “a form of union-busting.”

“The only justification we can find, is that this is a tactic to avoid that employees (of the SQC) would have better working conditions,” interim SEMB president Katia Lelièvre said in April of last year. “If you take people who are not unionized from the start, they have to start at zero.”

SAQ employees earn $20.46 per hour; Filato said he hoped the SQDC’s workers can get their hourly wages up to $18.

Representatives of the SQDC told La Presse Canadienne they respected the right of employees to engage in pressure tactics enshrined in the Labour Code.

5 ways to help your budtender help you image
Cannabis 101
5 ways to help your budtender help you
Patrick Bennett

Shop highly rated dispensaries near you

Showing you dispensaries near
See all dispensaries
  • Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
  • Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
  • Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
  • Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
  • See all dispensaries
See all dispensaries
Montrealquebec
Jesse B. Staniforth
Jesse B. Staniforth
Jesse Staniforth reports on cannabis, food safety, and Indigenous issues. He is the former editor of WeedWeek Canada.
View Jesse B. Staniforth's articles

The latest in Canada

  • Vancouver weed visitor’s guide 2024 image
    Vancouver weed visitor’s guide 2024
    Amelia Williams
  • A history of cannabis prohibition in Canada image
    A history of cannabis prohibition in Canada
    Emma Spears
  • Are psychedelics legal in Canada? image
    Are psychedelics legal in Canada?
    Colleen Fisher Tully
  • D8, Eh? What Canadians need to know about Delta-8 cannabis products image
    D8, Eh? What Canadians need to know about Delta-8 cannabis products
    Adam Greenblatt
Get good reads, local deals, and strain spotlights delivered right to your inbox.

By providing us with your email address, you agree to Leafly's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.



Stay In Touch

Receive updates on new products, special offers, and industry news.

Something went wrong, please try again.

By providing us with your email address, you agree to Leafly’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Leafly mobile app
Get high for less.
Download the Leafly app.
Download Leafly: Marijuana Reviews on the App StoreDownload Leafly Marijuana Reviews on Google Play

Business Solutions
  • List your store
  • List your CBD store
  • List your brand
  • List your practice
  • Business log in

About Leafly
  • About us
  • Careers
  • Newsroom
  • Investor relations
  • Contact us
  • FAQs
  • Accessibility

Dispensaries in
  • Los Angeles
  • Seattle
  • Portland
  • San Francisco
  • Toronto
  • Detroit

Privacy & Terms
  • Terms of use
  • Commercial terms of use
  • Privacy policy
  • Do not sell my personal information

* Statements made on this website have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Information provided by this website or this company is not a substitute for individual medical advice.


© 2025 Leafly, LLC
Leafly and the Leafly logo are registered trademarks of Leafly, LLC. All Rights Reserved.