Premier Houston meets with Mi’kmaw chiefs as tensions rise over cannabis crackdown

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston met with Mi’kmaw chiefs about Indigenous cannabis dispensaries.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston met Friday with four Mi’kmaw chiefs as tensions continue to climb over the province’s push to crackdown on what it calls an expanding illegal cannabis market that’s operating both on-and-off First Nation reserves.

A two-hour meeting was held Friday afternoon at the headquarters of the Atlantic Policy Congress for First Nations Chiefs in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.

Membertou Chief Terry Paul confirmed that he, along with Glooscap Chief Sidney Peters, Potlotek Chief Wilbert Marshall and Millbrook Chief Bob Gloade met with Premier Houston who arrived alone at the meeting.

When it was over, Houston said the meeting was positive but he was clear the province wasn’t backing away from its position.

Houston said the number of unregulated cannabis dispensaries operating across the province is getting “out of control,” calling it a serious public health and safety risk with ties to organized crime.

“The status quo isn’t working,” Houston said. He said he’s open to solutions but didn’t hear anything that addressed the government’s safety concerns.

Membertou Chief Terry Paul said Mi’kmaw communities want to build their own Indigenous-regulated cannabis industry operating independent of the provincial framework grounded in Treaty and Aboriginal rights.

“Listen to what we’re saying here,” said Paul after the meeting. “We have rights in this province. This is serious and this is the path we want to take and we want the province and the federal government to work with us.”

Paul said Mi’kmaw communities share concerns around public safety but his community is not interested in partnering with the province and the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation to run provincially regulated shops on reserve. Instead, they want a system that allows them to participate in the industry without fear of being shut down.

Chief Paul reiterated that the province failed to consult with them before announcing their enforcement directive last week when Attorney General Scott Armstrong issued a letter to 13 Chiefs asking for support to shut down the “illegal” or “shadow” cannabis market.

Both sides said they need to improve communication before making any big decisions.

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