A new report from the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples says First Nations people have not shared in economic opportunities stemming from the legalization of cannabis after the federal government has ignored their calls for jurisdiction over its possession, sale, and distribution.
Report Background
In 2022, the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples examined the implementation of the Cannabis Act and how the legalization of cannabis has affected Indigenous peoples. It also wanted to better understand how the federal government addressed recommendations from the committee’s 2018 report on the cannabis bill.
The committee’s new report is intended to inform the work of the Expert Panel that is tasked with reviewing the Cannabis Act. The committee hopes the panel will work with Indigenous peoples, organizations, and governments to resolve the problems identified in their report.
Problems Ignored
The committee found that many of the problems identified by First Nations prior to the legalization of cannabis have not been addressed.
For example, the federal government has the exclusive power to regulate matters relating to First Nations and their reserve lands. According to the Senate Committee, in 2018, while Parliament debated the Cannabis Act, First Nations representatives argued that recognizing 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.
Instead, the federal government gave this jurisdiction to the provinces and territories, some of which have reportedly not responded to First Nations’ requests for agreements to produce, sell and distribute cannabis.
Report Recommendations
The committee recommends that the Minister of Health introduce legislation to amend the Cannabis Act to permit 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. These are among the 13 recommendations contained in the report that the committee says “are intended to correct the oversights that have once more left First Nations people on the outside looking in.”
Other recommendations include an excise tax-sharing framework for First Nations that should be developed to share revenues more broadly. The committee says cannabis licensing schemes also need to be reviewed to increase the numbers of Indigenous businesses to be licensed as cannabis producers.
Research needs to be conducted to understand the effects of cannabis legalization on the health of Indigenous peoples, including youth and women. The committee says this research should be owned and used by Indigenous communities to inform public health education and approaches.
Committee Urges Oversight Corrections
In a statement, Senator Brian Francis, Chair of the Committee said, “It is disappointing to once again be forced to try to correct oversights that could have been prevented had the federal government listened to First Nations people from the beginning. In the spirit of reconciliation, the government must promote, rather than hinder, the full and equal participation of our people and communities in the economy.”
Image courtesy of the Senate of Canada.