Header: Former Senator Dan Christmas
A former senator says First Nations should have a protected right to control cannabis in their communities without interference from provincial authorities.
Dan Christmas, from the Mi’kmaw Membertou First Nation, spoke to the Senate Standing Committee on Indigenous Peoples on April 29 about the government’s response to a report on the implementation of Canada’s cannabis laws and its effects on Indigenous communities.
He focused on the issue of First Nations regulating the distribution, sale and possession of cannabis.
Christmas proposed a specifically worded amendment to the Cannabis Act which would give Indigenous communities the same control of cannabis as they do with child welfare services.
The clause, he suggested, would read, “The inherent right of self-government, recognized and affirmed by Section 35 of the Constitution Act 1982, includes jurisdiction in relation to health, safety, and well-being, including legislative authority in relation to those services pertaining to cannabis and authority to administer and enforce laws made under that legislative authority.”
“I would strongly encourage this committee to adopt an amendment to the Act,” Christmas said, “that clearly and explicitly recognizes the inherent right of self-government over cannabis.”
Christmas noted Ottawa’s preference has been for First Nations to develop agreements with provincial and territorial governments, with whom they have no historical relationship.
But he noted that efforts by the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs to work cooperatively with the province in regulating cannabis on First Nations lands have been for nothing.
