A medical marijuana company has a new home in Queens County.
Aqualitas, out of Bedford, started moving into its building at Port Mersey Commercial Park in Brooklyn on June 1.
The company is retrofitting the 70,000 square foot building into a production facility to grow cannabis.
CEO Myrna Gillis says the company is using aquaponics, a combination of aquaculture and horticulture, using fish to provide nutrients to the plants.
“It provides for more consistent yields, it’s a pesticide-free process, it’s an all-natural process and it also is a more environmentally sustainable process. It’s good for the environment and it’s good for the consumer.”
The company still needs approval from Health Canada before receiving a medical marijuana licence to start growing their product.
The facility is expected to be ready by November and Gillis says they hope to have their licence secured to be able to start hiring roughly 60 people.
Region of Queens Mayor David Dagley says the company fits in well at Port Mersey Commercial Park.
He says the company has shown they’re committed to rural Nova Scotia.
“The jobs that they’re creating will be clean jobs, reasonably good paying jobs and I think will be an addition to the population of Queens as well as add to our economic growth.”
Dagley says he’s unsure what the new business will do for economic spin-off in the area.
He says it’s great news and he doesn’t anticipate many concerns from residents about the company joining the community.
