A young member of Girl Guides is being praised for her entrepreneurship after selling cookies outside a cannabis store on legalization day.
Elina Childs, age 9, packed her wagon full of cookies, grabbed some change from her piggy bank, and walked down to a nearby store with her father.
“We’ve sold cookies in the neighbourhood before with her and it’s door to door. People aren’t home. There’s dogs and everything else,” said her father, Seann Childs. “We thought, ‘Where can we go to sell them?’
“It just so happens that legalization was coming up in a couple of days.”
She started walking up and down the lineup outside the store, and her innovation was very well received. Even cars were stopping on the street to buy her cookies. She sold out in 45 minutes.
“Good on her and her family for thinking of it,” said Edmonton commissioner for Girl Guides, Heather Monahan. “It’s fun and it’s different and what better way to get rid of cookies.”
Elina’s parents say it turned out to be a teachable moment. As their daughter has cystic fibrosis, they encourage her to get out and be active, and Girl Guides is part of that.
“This was one day she could benefit from smoking,” said Childs. “We saw that as an opportunity to get out there and teach her a little about what cannabis is.
“Obviously she’s not going to be using it before she’s 18, I hope, but we like to have frank discussions with her, so she understands what it is and take away that mystery behind it — just to show her people of all ages and all walks of life are doing this and it’s legal in Canada now, just demystify it for her so it’s not a big deal for her.”
-With files from The Canadian Press.
