Longhouses and Council meet

The future of cannabis in the community remains uncertain, with a meeting on Wednesday between the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) and both Longhouses providing little clarity about the path forward.

“We know the second these dispensaries open, it’d give a sense of permission to a lot more stores on the territory to start selling cannabis,” said Joe Deom, who was one of the representatives of the 207 Longhouse at the meeting.

Representatives from both Longhouses had joined with hundreds of community members back in April to voice their stance against dispensaries in Kahnawake with MCK. Currently, dispensary licenses are still in the consultations process, with the Kahnawake Cannabis Control Board (KCCB) undertaking consultations with community members who live nearby to any of the proposed dispensary locations.

There were 14 applicants for the three dispensary licenses, which are slated to be awarded via lottery.

Deom said that Longhouse representatives told the nine MCK chiefs present at Wednesday’s meeting that it’s imperative that licenses aren’t granted to anybody, and that the idea of selling cannabis in the dispensary is walked back before it’s too late.

He said that the MCK chiefs provided information about how they’ve been involved in the process to date.

“They said they inherited the issue from the previous Council, and they’re kind of in a dilemma, really, of how to answer, and what action they should take,” he said. “I suppose they have to decide fairly soon, but there was no commitment on their part about when or what position they’re going to take.”

A meeting has been organized at the 207 Longhouse for this Saturday, May 17, at 10 a.m. Representatives from both the Mohawk Trail Longhouse and the 207 Longhouse will be in attendance, and both Longhouses are encouraging all community members to attend to voice their opinions and hear more about Wednesday’s meetings, even if they have no affiliation with a Longhouse.

“It’s definitely something that people can’t sit on their rears about. They’ve got to stand up, because it’s a silent majority,”said Ka’nahsohon Kevin Deer, who was in attendance at the meeting this week along with fellow members of the Mohawk Trail Longhouse.

“If you look at the social impacts, the police have something to say, social services have something to say about it, the teachers are witnessing certain things that are happening in the school, they should all speak up about what’s going on.”

Deer said he felt that the Longhouse’s concerns were heard by the MCK chiefs, but it’s yet to be seen how things will progress after this weekend’s meeting.

“When everything is all said and done, it can’t just always be money that motivates what we do,” he said.

“It’s come to a point in time where we have to say, look, enough is enough now.”

MCK grand chief Cody Diabo said that the meeting came about after Longhouse representatives inquired if MCK would be willing to meet. He said that Council is planning to listen to what unfolds at the Longhouse meeting this weekend.

“We suggested a couple of things, I want to let them communicate that back to the house and then come back to us to update us and we can see what the next steps are,” Diabo said.

He added that with a community meeting coming up in two weeks, he’s anticipating hearing from a range of voices.

“I think it’s important for the community to be able to engage in a safe place, there are definitely people who would want a regulated industry too and I think it’s important to hear from them as well,” Diabo said. “We need to be able to discuss this as a community, to hear all sides, all perspectives.”

Despite the issue of dispensaries opening still being unresolved, Deom said he was pleased that the two Longhouses were working together collaboratively with a joint focus of keeping Kahnawake safe for future generations.

“It was really a good feeling for everyone,” he said. “We need to be more proactive on other issues as well. But I think it’s a good start.”

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