The NSLC had a deal for a Mi’kmaq-run cannabis shop, but the band is tapping the brakes
CBC
The Crown corporation in charge of cannabis sales in Nova Scotia has signed an agreement with a Mi'kmaw community for what would be a first-of-its-kind on-reserve shop owned by the band —but the chief says that plan is now on ice.
It's not clear when the agreement between the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) and Wagmatcook First Nation was signed, but it was made possible in April when the province adopted new cannabis retail regulations.
The regulations allow bands or band-owned corporations to be “authorized sellers” with the NSLC, meaning they can buy cannabis products wholesale from the corporation and sell them through a community store.
Shops run by authorized sellers have to follow the same rules as other NSLC cannabis retail locations, including capping transactions at 30 grams and reporting monthly to the corporation, but they can operate under their own banner.
Last week, Justice Minister Scott Armstrong touted the model as a compromise between the NSLC’s monopoly on legal sales and calls from some Mi’kmaw leaders and dispensary owners to allow Mi’kmaw sellers to self-regulate.
“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Armstrong told reporters.
Armstrong said the model ensures cannabis isn’t sold to minors because retail staff are trained to “keep it out of the hands of youth,” it ensures public safety by limiting products to those approved by Health Canada, and it keeps the proceeds in communities “and out of the hands of any possible work by organized crime.”
The NSLC said in addition to having signed one agreement, it has “engaged in discussions with several interested communities, and those conversations are ongoing.”
The corporation wouldn’t name the band it signed with, but Wagmatcook Chief Norman Bernard confirmed on Monday that it was his community.
However, he added via email, “At this time everything is on pause until we evaluate our options.” He did not elaborate.
Bernard is a member of the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs, which took issue earlier this month with a directive Armstrong gave to police forces to crack down on unregulated cannabis sales. Some unregulated shops are on Mi
WARNING: This story contains details of violence against Indigenous women, as well as references to racist beliefs and behaviours.
Members of the Jewish community in Waterloo in southern Ontario celebrated the first night of Hanukkah on Sunday by lighting a massive five-metre-high menorah.
Charlottetown residents now have a new tool to help them follow the progress P.E.I.’s capital is making on its climate action plan.
The Northwest Territories’ minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) says government presence at mining conferences is “critically important” after she and two other territorial delegates travelled to London, England, for five days earlier this month to attend Resourcing Tomorrow.
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani says he's ready to lend a hand and do what he can, if Prime Minister Mark Carney says he wants help restarting trade negotiations with the United States.
The Carney government is making good on a promise to help tackle one of the most potent forms of climate pollution, as it announces new measures to address methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.
Tracey Nicholson cried tears of joy when her 11-year wait for social housing in Kington, Ont., finally ended with an apartment at 381 Bagot St.
Toronto city councillors are set to decide the fate of a contractor that intentionally overbilled the city more than $1 million, a breach of the supplier code of conduct uncovered by a forensic audit conducted for the city.
A 29-year-old registered massage therapist has been accused by London police of sexually assaulting a client, and investigators say they believe there may be other victims.
A mass shooting in which 15 people were killed during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach was "a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State," Australia's federal police commissioner Krissy Barrett said Tuesday.
A three-man committee will lead Newfoundland and Labrador's independent review of the Churchill Falls memorandum of understanding with Quebec, and it has four months to do it.
A Yarmouth, N.S., woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2020 death of her 17-month-old son.
A new agreement signed between Parks Canada and eight Mi'kmaq First Nations in New Brunswick will give the Mi'kmaq a hand in the management of national parks and historic sites.