HALIFAX — Mi’kmaw chiefs in Nova Scotia are demanding a moratorium on RCMP raids on cannabis stores in their communities.
The call from Maw-lukutijik Saqmaq, also known as the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs, comes after First Nations communities blocked a number of provincial highways last week in protest of increased police raids in their communities in recent months. First Nations leaders have claimed they have a treaty right to sell cannabis, which the provincial government denies.
The assembly said in a release Thursday that it wants a moratorium on raids until it has had a chance to have “real nation-to-nation” talks with the province. It said despite claims from Minister of Justice Scott Armstrong and Premier Tim Houston, no one from the provincial government has reached out to the group to set up a meeting and its requests have gone unanswered.
“We have long offered solutions to the provincial government on how Mi’kmaq could exercise our right to self-govern and still be transparent with them on how we intended to manage the sale of cannabis in our communities, but Nova Scotia has not been open to having any conversations with Mi’kmaw leadership,” assembly co-chair and Glooscap First Nation Chief Sidney Peters said in a statement.
Tensions have been on the rise since the province issued a directive to police for a crackdown on what it calls illegal cannabis shops in December. The provincial government only allows cannabis sales through the Crown-owned Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation and has linked unregulated cannabis sales to organized crime, claiming profits help fund human trafficking.
