Cannabis case dismissed
Cannabis has been a controversial topic in town for years. Courtesy Canva
Legal proceedings filed against the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) have been dismissed by a Federal Court judge, with the court ruling that the MCK doesn’t have to produce documents related to the Kahnawake Cannabis Control Board (KCCB)’s decision to refuse a processing license for a local business.
The proceedings were filed by Treena Delisle, who had applied for a standard processing license from the KCCB for her business, The Kannabis Shop, in the fall of 2024.
In her application for judicial review, Delisle’s lawyers argued that the MCK should be compelled to produce any documents pertaining to The Kannabis Shop, including internal communications sent or received between June 2022 and October 2024, as well as any and all materials to, from, or about Ryan McComber, another individual involved in The Kannabis Shop.
According to Federal Court documents filed by Delisle, the applicant, The Kannabis Shop was initially advised on an “informal and confidential basis” that they’d been approved for a Health Canada processing license, only to subsequently be refused a license by the KCCB.
The application for judicial review argued that the MCK should be forced to produce documents under Federal Court rules, but the court decided that “only the entity that rendered the administrative decision is required to disclose documents.” Since the KCCB operates at an “arms-length” from MCK, federal judge Kirk G. Shannon ruled that the MCK was not the entity that made the decision, and therefore isn’t compelled to release those documents.
“This decision makes it clear that the MCK did not influence the KCCB’s ruling, and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise,” said MCK grand chief Cody Diabo in a press release on Thursday. “In rejecting the Applicant’s attempt to compel disclosure, the Court confirmed that the Board operates independently.”
Lawyers for Delisle could not be reached in time for The Eastern Door’s publishing deadline.
The ruling also rejects Delisle’s allegation that the Council acted behind the scenes, relying on affidavit evidence from MCK chief Tonya Perron to rule that “there is no direct evidence of any involvement by the Council in the decision-making process” that led to the KCCB’s decision.
Moreover, Shannon rejected Delisle’s evidence of interactions with Health Canada and conflicts surrounding the Health Canada licensing process, arguing that it was irrelevant to the application for judicial review at hand.
He also dismissed the applicant’s approach to laying out evidence as a “classic example of a fishing expedition,” citing Delisle’s counsel’s statement that “we smell gun powder, we are looking for the smoking gun” as an example of a party hoping to discover documents to establish their claim instead of relying on hard evidence of wrongdoing.
In dismissing Delisle’s application, the judge ordered that court costs totalling $2,000 must be paid by Delisle to the MCK.
While this ruling marks a win for the MCK, the Council continues to be caught up in legal proceedings regarding cannabis in the community, despite the standstill that remains with the current non-operational status of the KCCB. MCK is currently being sued for more than $6.5 million in damages by community members who say that the KCCB’s ongoing reassurances led them to make financial decisions related to their cultivation operations, resulting in loss of revenue over the years.
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MCK spokesperson Tehosterihens Deer said the Council is unable to comment on the details of any ongoing litigation, but that they “will be transparent with the community and update accordingly.”
