Group wants proposed menthol cigarette ban to apply to aboriginal tobacco industry – Montreal Gazette
August 6, 2015
On the eve of provincial hearings into a bill banning the sale of menthol cigarettes in Quebec, an advocacy group wants the government to apply the proposed law on the aboriginal tobacco industry.
But representatives from Kahnawake’s cigarette trade say the province has no jurisdiction in Mohawk territory, a sentiment echoed by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake. Meanwhile, Premier Philippe Couillard’s Liberal government says it cannot impose regulations on a section of the industry that largely operates outside the law.
Still, the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco will tour the province and turn the heat up on the Liberals until the Bill 44 hearings begin later this month. Though First Nations have a constitutionally guaranteed right to grow tobacco on reserves, their tax-free sale to non-aboriginals is illegal (hence the reason aboriginal cigarettes are often referred to as contraband).
