Council decides no dispensaries

After years of controversy surrounding the potential sale of retail cannabis in the community, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) has officially made a decision: there will be no cannabis sales on the territory.

“This isn’t a decision that was made overnight,” said MCK grand chief Cody Diabo.

“At the end of the day, we have to respect what the community wants. We all live here, we all want Kahnawake to thrive and be safe.”

Last April, hundreds of community members took to the streets of Kahnawake to protest against proposed retail sales in the territory. Until now, there was set to be three dispensary licenses handed out in the community to eligible applicants, a process that was going to be decided via lottery.

Both the Mohawk Trail Longhouse and the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake (207 Longhouse) have also publicly opposed the proposed dispensaries, joining forces to present a unified front against retail sale in Kahnawake.

While two businesses currently cultivate cannabis in the community for sale outside of the territory, no storefronts have been permitted to open in the community, and with MCK’s announcement this week, it looks like it’ll stay that way, at least for now.

Community member Victoria-Lee Diabo said that it was a relief to hear that the Council table had chosen not to go ahead with proposed dispensaries, saying that she feels the decision shows community concerns are finally being taken seriously by the Council table.

“It sends a clear, strong message to the community that our safety concerns are being taken seriously,” Victoria-Lee said. “Though some may be disappointed, it reflects a strong emphasis on community consensus.”

The implementation of the Kahnawake Cannabis Control Law has been managed by the Kahnawake Cannabis Control Board (KCCB), a board that operates at “arm’s-length” from the MCK. However, in June of last year, the entirety of the KCCB resigned, leaving the board non-operational.

The board remains non-operational today, having failed to get new members. While the board will no longer be tasked with managing the process of issuing dispensary licenses, new members will still need to be recruited to continue managing cultivation and processing licenses, which will continue to be permitted going forward.

Victoria-Lee Diabo said that the resignation of the entire board had been the final straw for her, and represented a complete lack of trust from the community in the prospect of cannabis retail in Kahnawake.

“Over the past few years, the discussion of cannabis sales has felt inconsistent, and at times poorly managed. The KCCB had begun to lose its leaders, and that made me feel as if they themselves were unsure of the whole thing,” she said.

While she said she’s glad the MCK listened to the community, she wishes that more had been done sooner, pointing towards how uncertainty over the past year made many in the community worried about Kahnawake’s future - though she acknowledged the political complexity of making such a call.

“It seems like the MCK did listen to public input, though they did take some more time to make a clear decision than some residents would have liked. In situations like this, I believe timing is important,” she said. “Acting earlier might’ve prevented frustration from community members, but taking the necessary time to make the right decision is also important.

“Ideally there should’ve been a more clear way of communicating with the people of Kahnawake.”

MCK chief Tonya Perron has headed up the cannabis file for several years, and though she said that she remains a personal proponent of a strictly regulated system, it’s ultimately up to the community to choose the path forward with cannabis.

“I still am of that opinion, but I’m an elected leader. I cannot ignore what I hear and see, and what’s coming to me from the community as an elected official,” she said. “I can’t ignore my table’s concerns and say that the Council should or shouldn’t do anything. I have to factor everything in.”

She said that ultimately, the decision to cancel the retail plans was made by consensus at the Council table.

“It was a really, really hard discussion for me to have, because I’ve put a lot of effort into this, and it’s not just me, there’s quite a number of people who have put a lot of time and energy into this, and I’ve fought a lot of battles to fulfill the mandate I was given when I took over the file in 2019,” she said.

“On the one hand, for me, it’s a little bit disappointing, and I won’t hide that. But at the same time, I can’t ignore the sentiment that we’re seeing across different sectors of the community, and the concerns of the Council table.”

For Joe Deom, a spokesperson for the 207 Longhouse, the decision is proof that the community can make its own decisions about its social and political future. He said he’s been particularly proud of how parts of the community united on the issue, and how people put their differences aside for what he believes is the good of future generations.

“It was a very good feeling to have people from different sectors of the community get together,” he said. “The band council has acceded to the wishes of most of the community. We’ve had some good reactions from people in the Longhouse about the announcement.”

He said that it’s important community members take the situation as a lesson for future political issues, and are motivated by the way in which coming together enacted change - and that the community remains aware of the fact that underground cannabis sales could still be a threat even if dispensaries don’t open.

“We always have to be on the alert for issues that are detrimental to our people,” he said. “We have to still keep vigilant about anyone who does want to sell cannabis or any other drug in the community. It’s still an issue that we need to care about.”

Perron reiterated that there is still an ongoing need for board members to join the KCCB to manage process and cultivation licenses moving forward - the posting for members remains public, and anyone with questions can contact the MCK directly.

She said that while there are currently two licenses for facilities operating cultivation businesses right now, there were no pending applications at the time of the KCCB’s resignations - though that could change in future, and having KCCB board members will be essential to ensure that process is done correctly.

As for the matter of licensing dispensaries, Perron acknowledged that it’ll always be up to the community to revisit that discussion, but said that she doesn’t see that happening in the future.

“I’m basing that on all of the information we’ve gathered and what we’ve seen and heard,” she said.

“I think that the issue of legal dispensaries in the community is something that won’t be revised.”

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