Chilliwack First Nation writes its own cannabis law
The Kwaw-Kwaw-Apilt First Nation near Chilliwack has written its own cannabis law to replace the federal Cannabis Act and licensed its own cannabis store on reserve land.
They are not alone. First Nations from B.C. to Nova Scotia are in a jurisdictional uprising over the manufacture and sale recreational cannabis on their lands, including the powerful Six Nations government in Ontario, where they are also drafting their own regulations.
“First Nations reserve lands are not under provincial jurisdiction,” said Darwin Douglas, a Cheam councillor, who is advising the Kwaw-KwawApilt. “First Nations are writing their own cannabis laws and standards that meet or exceed federal and provincial standards.”
The Indigenous Bloom cannabis store on the KwawKwaw-Apilt reserve does not have a provincial retail licence.
Conflict was inevitable after First Nations were ignored when Ottawa cut a deal with the provinces to share excise tax revenue from recreational cannabis, said Manny Jules, head of the First Nations Tax Commission.
Provinces will receive 75 per cent of an estimated $400 million in annual excise tax revenue, while Ottawa gets 25 per cent.
The government also ignored a warning from the Senate Standing Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, that First Nations likely have law-making and regulatory powers over the cannabis trade.
Under provincial cannabis legislation, B.C. confers the same powers to First Nations as it does municipalities: They can choose whether to allow provincially licensed cannabis retail stores on their land, they can control where the stores locate, and they can apply for a provincial retail licence to open a shop.
“As with the provincial Liquor Control and Licensing Act, B.C.’s cannabis laws are laws of general application that apply across the province, including on reserve and treaty settlement lands,” said Solicitor-General Mike Farnworth.
That is not the “nation-tonation” relationship promised by the prime minister, said Jules, a former chief of the Kamloops Indian Band. “It’s a powerful opportunity for reconciliation thrown away.”