Ontario has a large number of Indigenous-owned cannabis stores that operate on reserves without a license from the AGCO. There has been a lot of lobbying from First Nations to allow Indigenous-owned stores to operate not just on-reserve but off-reserve.
One of these stores is MyLegacy Cannabis Dispensary in Oshawa which opened in January 2024 and is owned by Robert Fisher Tehonikonrathe who is a Mohawk of the Tehanakarineh Bear Clan from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.
The First Nations believe they have constitutionally protected Aboriginal and treaty rights and are challenging the Indian Act. Tehonikonrathe went to the Oshawa City Hall on January 18th, 2024, before he opened his store and advised the municipality and Durham Regional Police that he was going to exercise his rights and would not be getting a license for his store.
Police Take Action
Six days after he opened his store, the police raided Tehonikonrathe’s shop and announced that they seized $240,000 in trade goods from the illegal store and arrested two employees, who were charged with possession of cannabis for the purpose of selling and possession of the proceeds of property obtained by crime.
According to Dispensing Freedom, on July 11, Durham Regional Police officers entered MyLegacy Cannabis Dispensary and served papers to a staff member. The officers also seized approximately $50,000 of cannabis. Then on July 19, Tehonikonrathe, Chief Del Riley, and a group of supporters delivered another letter calling on city officials and the Durham Regional Police to meet to discuss the treaty rights involved in the matter.
Dispensing Freedom reports that on August 7 Tehonikonrathe turned himself in on a warrant for owning and operating an Indigenous cannabis store at 77 Centre St N in Oshawa.
Photo courtesy of Dispensing Freedom