Membertou First Nation tells province, RCMP to butt out of cannabis and tobacco sales
CBC
An Indigenous government in Nova Scotia has passed a new resolution saying the province and RCMP have no right to carry out enforcement on its lands, as police and provincial officials step up raids on what they claim are illegal cannabis operations.
The council of Cape Breton's Membertou First Nation, led by Chief Terry Paul, released the resolution Friday saying it has a treaty right to self-governance, recognized by the Constitution. It says that includes the right to regulate sales of cannabis and tobacco.
"Enforcement bodies used by the Province of Nova Scotia to assert their unlawful authority, including the RCMP, and Service Nova Scotia — Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel and Tobacco Division, are not permitted to carry out enforcement activities on Membertou lands," says the document.
It's the latest in an ongoing dispute between Nova Scotia's Mi'kmaw governments and the province that ratcheted up when Attorney General Scott Armstrong issued a directive to police agencies in December to increase illegal cannabis enforcement. Armstrong wrote to 13 Mi'kmaw chiefs at the time, requesting their co-operation.
The provincial government and Mi'kmaw leaders have also had disputes over grant funding, resource extraction policies and protests on Crown land.
Armstrong has claimed unregulated cannabis benefits organized crime, with profits used to fund other crimes, such as human trafficking.
Nova Scotia's two largest police forces have said they don’t see a direct link between human trafficking and the unregulated cannabis market.
Police have followed orders with a series of raids across the province, including on March 3 when they seized cannabis from five dispensaries in Eskasoni First Nation, Potlotek First Nation, Paq'tnkek First Nation, Waycobah First Nation and near Digby, N.S.
The province allows cannabis sales only at the Crown-owned Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation locations.
Paul issued a statement earlier this month saying that the Mi'kmaq have a "collective treaty right to the sale of cannabis." Armstrong responded that he has the utmost respect for the chief, but they have a difference of opinion.
The province maintains that multiple court decisions have rejected the idea that cannabis sales are a treaty right. There are other cases involving Indigenous-owned cannabis operators currently making their way through the provincial court system.
"Federal and provincial laws govern alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis," the government said in a statement Saturday. "These laws apply throughout Nova Scotia, including on reserve lands. Police are responsible for enforcement."
The RCMP did not immediately respond to a request for comment to The Canadian Press.
In an interview on Friday with CBC's Information Morning Nova Scotia, RCMP Supt. Jason Popik spoke about the recent raids in Eskasoni, Potlotek, Paq'tnkek, Waycobah and Conway, where RCMP issued six summary offence tickets.
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