Gasp First Nations community hoping medical marijuana facility will bring jobs

A First Nations band in Gasp is hoping a proposed medical marijuana production plant in nearby Atholville, N.B., will translate into jobs for its members.

The Listuguj band council held an information session Tuesday evening on its potential partnership with the company behind the project, Zenabis.

Zenabis purchased the old Atlantic Yarnsfacility in Atholvillein 2014 and has been trying to get the business off the ground eversince.

But Health Canada has delayed approving themedical marijuana production licence, which has thrown the project into doubt, along with the 400 jobs its first phase isexpected to create.

Those concernsdeepened last Novemberwhen Zenabis put its Atholvillepropertyup for sale.

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Hopes about the project's future, however, have since been been renewed.

In February, the company posted a message on its Facebook page saying it was "closer than ever to realizing our goal of operating one of the biggest medical marijuana production facilities in Canada."

The same message said the company believes "2016 is going to be a wonderful and exciting year for Zenabis."

The company's websiteiscurrently listing a number of job openings.

Atholville is around a 10-minute drive from the Listuguj Mi'gmaq reserve in Quebec's Gasp region.