The Government is being urged to give First Nations peoples the right to regulate their own cannabis production and sales by a Canadian Senate comittee.
The call follows the publication of a report by the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples which found that First Nations people have not shared in economic opportunities stemming from the legalisation of cannabis after the federal government ignored First Nations’ calls for jurisdiction over its possession.
The committee found that many of the problems identified by First Nations prior to the legalisation of cannabis have not been addressed, such as the federal government having the exclusive power to regulate matters relating to First Nations and their reserve lands.
In 2018, during the Cannabis Act debates, First Nations representatives argued that recognising their jurisdiction over the regulation, sale and distribution of cannabis was an essential element of their inherent right to self-government and would ensure their full participation in the economic opportunities that legalization was to provide.
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Ignoring this concern has left the First Nations shut out of the cannabis market, the report says, recommending that the Minister of Health introduce legislation to amend the Cannabis Act.
Speaking to MJ Biz Daily, when asked how it intends to increase the number of federally licensed cannabis businesses on reserves, a spokesperson for Health Canada, said the authority is committed to supporting the growth of a diverse and inclusive cannabis industry: “As part of this commitment, the department has taken targeted actions to assist interested Indigenous communities with their participation in the cannabis industry, including the establishment of an Indigenous Navigator Service.”
Alongside permitting First Nations to regulate the possession, sale and distribution of cannabis on their lands, the committee also recommends increased funding for policing and enforcement of First Nations cannabis laws, and additional funding and training for First Nations police services.
The report makes a total of 13 recommendations that intended to correct the oversights that “have once more left First Nations people on the outside looking in.”
