The Nova Scotia RCMP says it’s not aware of any fentanyl-laced cannabis being sold by unauthorized cannabis retailers in the province, after the premier made this claim in a news conference last week.
Houston’s remarks came amid growing tension between the province and Mi’kmaw communities after a directive earlier this month from Attorney General and Justice Minister Scott Armstrong ordered a province-wide crackdown on illegal cannabis.
The directive calls on all police agencies in Nova Scotia to prioritize shutting down every unauthorized cannabis dispensary, regardless of location.
“I’ve talked to people in law enforcement who have told me that in this province that they’ve taken illegal cannabis from unregulated illegal dispensaries and tested it and found that it was laced with traces of fentanyl,” Houston said in a news conference last Thursday.
“Sometimes I hear, ‘I don’t buy from the government supply because I don’t get the same buzz.’ Well, that’s probably why.”
Nova Scotia RCMP contradicted that statement.
“Based on the information currently available to us, the Nova Scotia RCMP is not aware of any fentanyl having been detected in cannabis products seized by the RCMP from illegal storefronts in the province,” said the RCMP in an email to CBC Indigenous.
In an email to CBC Indigenous, Houston’s office said the premier was speaking based on personal conversations and said he received this information from a front line police officer.
“Like we’ve said, this is an unregulated sector, so we don’t have data on many aspects at this time,” said the email.
The email included a screen shot of a social media post where a person claimed to have bought edibles at an “illegal Indigenous dispensary” and then tested positive for opiates.
On the day the directive was issued, Armstrong sent a letter to all Mi’kmaw chiefs asking for their co-operation with enforcement efforts, citing ‘a proliferation of illegal cannabis dispensaries that are largely concentrated on First Nations reserves across the province.’
In the letter, Armstrong makes clear cannabis stores in the province, including on-reserve, must be run through the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation.
“I am not aware of an even remotely credible basis for suggesting that use of or trade in cannabis is a Mi’kmaq Aboriginal or treaty right,” Armstrong said in the letter.
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Tuma Wilson, a lawyer and professor at Acadia University who is Mi’kmaw from L’sitkuk (Bear River First Nation) said the attorney general’s stance is troubling while Mi’kmaw trading rights remain before the courts.
“It risks prejudicing public opinion against people who are currently going through their court cases and it’s unfortunate and disheartening to see actions like that from people in positions of authority,” said Wilson.
Wilson, who works with the Micmac Rights Association, points to the 1752 Peace and Friendship Treaty which affirms the Mi’kmaw right to trade goods, arguing cannabis (whether recreational or medicinal) falls within those protections.
Premier says province consults
Houston has dismissed calls to repair the relationship between his government and Mi’kmaw communities, saying the province has met its duty to consult.
“Until the end of time, people will be complaining that the government didn’t consult enough, didn’t consult properly, didn’t consult broadly enough,” Houston said last Thursday.
“I will assure you 100 per cent that we meet and exceed those obligations every single time.”
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Potlotek First Nation Councillor Isaiah Bernard said his community has not experienced meaningful consultation.
“Does he dream about these meetings? Because I don’t know,” said Bernard.
“I heard him say he wants to have a relationship with us, but then he does something like this. It makes no sense to me.”
Potlotek First Nation has a handful of community cannabis dispensaries, and Bernard said they’re beneficial to the community by creating employment and supporting entrepreneurship.
“If there’s an issue, like let’s work on it together, not work against each other,” said Bernard.
“We’re all treaty people, we need to learn to coexist.”
Sipekne’katik First Nation responded to the directive by banning Houston, Armstrong and L’nu Affairs Minister Leah Martin from entering the community.
WATCH | First Nation bans Nova Scotia premier:
Sipekne’katik First Nation bans Premier Tim Houston
Leaders of the First Nation in central Nova Scotia have issued a scathing rebuke of the premier and two cabinet ministers, including an order not to step foot on band lands. As the CBC’s Taryn Grant reports, Houston says the declaration is bizarre and not something he’s focusing on.
In a letter announcing the ban, Sipekne’katik Chief Michelle Glasgow said the premier has never visited the community to develop relationships with its elected leadership.
“He has continued to radicalize colonial practices to suppress our community and fellow Mi’kmaw by forming laws that direct harm against us,” said Glasgow in the letter.
Defying the ban carries a $50,000 fine, a nod to legislation tabled by the province in October that made it illegal to block forestry roads amid Mi’kmaw-led actions calling for a halt to forestry operations in the Cape Breton Highlands.