The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Ontario has made a mess with its lottery approach to doling out pot shop licences. The Globe's guest columnist David Clement writes that Ontario held its second cannabis retail lottery on Aug. 20, bringing the province's retail market to the unreasonably low total of 75 stores. Compare that with Alberta, which has 277 licensed cannabis retailers to serve a population of 4.3 million (30 per cent of Ontario's). The small number of legal stores is a huge problem for Ontario given the persistent nature of the black market. Consumers need retail access in order for the legal market to crowd out the illegal market, and Ontario is clearly behind. Mr. Clement says the lottery system was a mistake to begin with. Mr. Clement says an uncapped retail licence system, which was the government's original plan, would significantly aid in consumer access, which would ultimately make the legal market more attractive than the black market. Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative government obviously knows this, which makes Mr. Clement wonder why they are waiting so long to move ahead with such a plan. Mr. Clement says the August lottery should be Ontario's last.