CANNABIS & NATIONHOOD
PROJECT OUTLINE
Canada imposes a hierarchy of laws that benefits the settler society and devalues/delegitimizes the law-making capacity of Indigenous groups. First Nations have inherent right to self-government which is consistent with the Treaties, Canada’s Constitution and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Cannabis Act came into force on October 17, 2018. It legalized the purchase, consumption and production of limited amounts of cannabis. Neither were the Indigenous communities consulted for this Act nor were their considerations or aspirations taken. Now, Canada has left it up to the provinces and territories to set rules on the sale and distribution of cannabis within their jurisdictions. Unresolved issues remain – mainly, the self-determined governance of First Nation cannabis production, distribution as well as consumption; and, the structures for the sharing of excise taxes. With this project NCH sets the stage for removal of these barriers and helps communities advance their authority and jurisdiction over cannabis. NCH supports the communities in the development of rules and regulations through their own self-determined legal systems and helps them align their economic goals with their own principles and values. The expected outcome of this project is not just a report but a framework for a nation-driven law.
NCH INSIGHT
Canada imposes a hierarchy of laws that benefits the settler society and devalues/delegitimizes the law-making capacity of Indigenous groups. First Nations have the inherent right to self-government which is consistent with the Treaties, Canada’s Constitution and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Cannabis Act came into force on October 17, 2018. It legalized the purchase, consumption, and production of limited amounts of cannabis. Neither were the Indigenous communities consulted for this Act nor were their considerations or aspirations taken. Now, Canada has left it up to the provinces and territories to set rules on the sale and distribution of cannabis within their jurisdictions.
Unresolved issues remain – mainly, the self-determined governance of First Nation cannabis production and distribution as well as consumption; and the structures for the sharing of excise taxes.
Tobacco has always had legislation tied to it, but with Cannabis, because of the actual inception of it with Bill C45, this became a very new opportunity for everybody, Canadians included. But for our communities, do we see ourselves as Canadians within the context of the Canadian legal framework or are we going to pull out all the devices, dynamics and decisions made around our own Indigenous legal order?
Canada right now is still somewhat on their heels when it comes to indigenous cannabis in this country.
The reason why Canada and the provinces are having a challenge with this is with the visibility of Crown jurisdiction of the medicinal and production side of Cannabis with the provinces having the mandate for retail and marketing and commercial side of Cannabis.
The provinces will not impose themselves on us unless they are given the green light by our communities, so they have no jurisdiction on this particular issue. It’s less than a year away that changes to Bill C45 are coming (October 2021), and we need to make sure that we are creating another alternative to becoming fused into colonial legislation on cannabis.
Our relationship to the land is a very personal and spiritual one yet on a collective level that’s where we begin to talk of Nationhood. That’s where the treaties that were entered into, they give recognition into nationhood, because of our ties to the land. We’ve been talking to the First Nations Tax Commission, which has been mandated and recognized by the Federal government. We have actually talked about putting together framework for a First Nations Cannabis stamp. We know that when look at a packet of cigarettes or tobacco, there is a stamp there that allows the supply chain the security of oversight. Those are the types of things we need to be thinking about.
In our territory, collecting tax from a non-Indigenous consumer is an opportunity to establish our own revenue stream. Right now, the federal government is able to take from the consolidated tax revenues and place that in a formula for equalization, but we don’t have that opportunity. Why? Because as First Nations under the Federal government framework, under the Indian Act, we are a policy discussion, a policy decision and we are nothing more than a proposal that goes to Treasury Board from Indigenous Services Canada just like every other request that comes in.
Well, what this does is gives us the opportunity to put in place mechanisms for a First Nations tax regime or for revenue sharing models if people don’t like the word ‘tax’, let’s address it anyway. The reality is its translating that portion of money from the consumer and diverting it back to the community or an investment pool that can be part of a contribution to a larger infrastructure project or securitization of capital. So those are the types of things that become tangible outputs of us taking control and looking at cannabis in the context of land jurisdiction.
Going ahead however, that’s where First Nation leaders and communities -- they’re being tossed a football. How are you going to deal with that once you have the football? Who are you going to pass it to? What is your play on this? How are you going to cross the goal line? How are you going to win this game? Because it is almost a war of attrition with regard to our economic right within this cannabis industry.
This is why the essence of cannabis in the context of Nationhood is extremely critical. It not only talks of economic development and taxation, it talks of health, it talks of social, governance -- so many things are related. This is our opportunity, our test. It is challenging us to say are we ready to take this opportunity to take the benefits out of the hands of the black market and create better socio-economic outcomes for first nations from a Nationhood model perspective.