‘After eight long years, we’re still dealing with the same issues,’ Dan Christmas tells senate committee.
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.
“Rather, the province of Nova Scotia has directed the RCMP to shut down First Nations cannabis retailers by force,” Christmas told the committee. “Since March 3, the RCMP have raided at least eight First Nations stores, and in the process, the province’s hardline approach has put in jeopardy the once collaborative relationship between the Assembly and the province of Nova Scotia.
“Several Nova Scotia First Nations have already asserted their inherent right by enacting their own legislation on cannabis.”
An atmosphere of raids
Nova Scotia’s raids on cannabis dispensaries in Mi’kmaq territories have been a flashpoint for debate in recent months. They began with an order in early December, 2025 by Nova Scotia Attorney General and Justice Minister Scott Armstrong to “intensify enforcement” of unlicensed cannabis retailers.
That began a period of increased raids, still ongoing, against cannabis operators in Mi’kmaq communities in Nova Scotia.
Armstrong sent a letter to 13 Mi’kmaq chiefs asking for their cooperation in the raids in their communities in order to tackle “a growing public safety problem.”
In a statement on Facebook, the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs responded, “The contents of that letter are not a fair description of the process or the reality on our reserves. There are Aboriginal and Treaty rights involved here.”
Matthew Cope is a Mi’kmaw cannabis operator from Millbrook First Nation, located roughly between Halifax and Moncton. Cope has been raided multiple times and charged, and is involved in an ongoing court case (under appeal) associated with some of those charges.
He said Mi’kmaw opposition to the raids was a question of Indigenous sovereignty.
“This completely has to do with the right to trade,” he told APTN News. “The act of trading has evolved in Canada to encompass cannabis. When we make this argument, it’s not just about the right to sell cannabis. It’s the right to engage in trade in our territories.”
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston inflamed the controversy when he claimed a law-enforcement source had told him they had seized unregulated cannabis sold on reserve spiked with dangerous opioids such as fentanyl.
Nova Scotia RCMP and Halifax Regional Police (HRP) refuted that claim, saying they had not seized cannabis products adulterated with fentanyl, nor had HRP.
Mi’kmaq leaders consequently pressed Houston to apologize for the claim, which he did not.
Read the full story at APTN News
