Nova Scotia’s former justice minister and a legal expert are raising concerns about legislation tabled Wednesday to strengthen enforcement of cannabis rules amid a crackdown on illegal dispensaries.
The bill increases fines and allows peace officers including constables and conservation officers to enforce rules alongside police, which Justice Minister Scott Armstrong said is needed to further deter illegal operations.
“Illegal cannabis is a risk to public health and safety, and illegal dispensaries are a threat to consumers, youth and the integrity of the regulated system,” Armstrong said Wednesday before tabling the proposed law.
However, Wayne MacKay, professor emeritus of law at Dalhousie University, and former justice minister Becky Druhan, who sits as an Independent in the legislature, worried about the lack of detail surrounding how these additional enforcement officers would be prepped for enforcement.
MacKay also feared Indigenous communities could be disproportionately affected by ramped-up enforcement and minimum fines.
Mi’kmaw chiefs asked to co-operate
It comes after the provincial government issued a directive on Dec. 4 that police prioritize efforts to stop illegal cannabis, with Armstrong sending a letter to 13 Mi’kmaw chiefs asking for their co-operation.
That move raised the ire of critics including the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs, several First Nations members, two legal experts and opposition leaders, some of whom have accused the province of encouraging law enforcement to target Indigenous communities.
Premier Tim Houston and Armstrong have repeatedly said the measures were not meant to target Mi’kmaw cannabis operations and that all unlicensed cannabis is illegal.
Provincial law controls cannabis sales through 51 Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. outlets across the province but many Mi’kmaw cannabis sellers assert they have a treaty right to do so.
MacKay said the enforcement ramp-up comes “at a time when there’s both public and judicial question” around Indigenous rights to sell cannabis on First Nation land.
“There are significant arguments being made [in court] that this is a matter of Aboriginal rights that people are dealing with … or even treaty rights in some cases,” he said.
“To double down by upping the fines and upping enforcement, I certainly don’t think that will be in any way helpful to the efforts of the province to promote reconciliation with Indigenous people,” MacKay said.
Sipekne’katik First Nation Chief Michelle Glasgow has said the premier, justice minister and minister of L’nu affairs are banned from band lands over the dispute, accusing the Houston government of continuing “to radicalize colonial practices to suppress our community and fellow Mi’kmaw by forming laws that direct harm against us.”
