First Nations protest on 3 N.S. highways as tensions escalate over cannabis raids

Traffic on three Nova Scotia highways slowed to a crawl on Thursday after several First Nations held protests following an RCMP raid of a cannabis shop in a Mi’kmaw community amid rising tensions over Mi’kmaw cannabis sales.

More than a dozen Cape Breton RCMP officers were trapped behind a barricade in Potlotek as community members protested the police raid in the First Nation located about 75 kilometres south of Sydney, N.S.

Employees of the Sikku Shop on Highway 4 said RCMP arrived early in the morning before the shop opened and broke down the door.

They loaded a U-Haul trailer with cannabis products, shelves and drink coolers and then took off, leaving other officers and their vehicles behind.

Eight RCMP vehicles were blocked in at the scene for about four hours as community members gathered on the road.

Later in the morning, other RCMP vehicles arrived at the scene, and the officers who had remained got out of their vehicles and walked out of the blockade carrying rifles and duffel bags.

The officers left quickly in unmarked SUVs as community members whooped and hollered.

Potlotek band councillor Mary Johnson said the community plans to maintain the blockade on Highway 4 until police return the products taken from the store.

Johnson said community members gathered after the raid to support each other.

“We’re just having a peaceful protest and want to be heard that the RCMP can’t just come into our community and do what they want to do.”

Shop employee Raylene Boyce said she’s glad community members are supporting the store owner and workers.

“It’s not just a job. It’s family,” she said.

RCMP say officers were executing a search warrant at the store at 7:30 a.m., and that two people were arrested in connection with the cannabis seizure.

An RCMP spokesperson said in a statement that people “have a protected right to lawfully, peacefully and safely assemble,” and that crimes against people or property will not be tolerated.

The statement noted that the RCMP’s liaison team is engaged and “communications are ongoing with community leaders.”

Traffic was backed up on Highway 4, one of two routes between Sydney and the Canso Causeway, as a result of the closure. Highway 4 remained closed Thursday evening but traffic was being rerouted.

We’koqma’q First Nation also held a protest starting late Thursday afternoon on the other route to Sydney, Highway 105, to slow traffic. That protest ended around 7 p.m.

Highway 102 slowdown

Members of Sipekne’katik First Nation and Millbrook First Nation also held protests Thursday on Highway 102, the main highway linking Halifax and northern Nova Scotia.

The Sipekne’katik protest, which began around noon Thursday, was announced on Facebook by Chief Michelle Glasgow.

The post said “it’s not about ‘weed shops’ being raided. It’s about the government asserting jurisdiction over our communities and over our unceded Mi’kmaq lands.”

Members of the First Nation blocked one southbound lane at Exit 10 of Highway 102. Starting at 2:30 p.m., Millbrook First Nation began blocking one northbound lane of traffic at Exit 13A.

A Facebook post said the Millbrook protest would continue until 7 p.m. By evening, traffic on Highway 102 was flowing normally.

Natalie Gloade, one of the protesters, said the peaceful gathering is a demonstration of solidarity, and an expression of discontent over the province’s ignorance concerning treaty rights.

“I think Tim Houston is in the wrong business,” said Gloade. “He needs a lot of training in regards to our Mi’kmaw rights, treaty rights and who we are as a people.”

Police crackdown

The blockades occur as tensions escalate in some Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw communities over raids on cannabis stores.

RCMP have been cracking down in recent months on what the police force calls “illegal” cannabis stores, seizing products largely from stores located on First Nations and issuing tickets.

RCMP conducted inspections at five cannabis stores on Eskasoni First Nation, Potlotek First Nation, Paqtnkek First Nation, We’koqma’q First Nation and Digby in early March.

In response, Sipekne’katik set up checkpoints at the community’s entrances and exits. Sipekne’katik has also banned some provincial politicians — including Premier Tim Houston — from band lands.

In December, provincial Justice Minister Scott Armstrong called on police agencies to prioritize cannabis enforcement, and asked for the co-operation of 13 Mi’kmaq chiefs to allow police to deal with the “growing public safety problem” of illegal cannabis sales.

Armstrong told reporters Thursday that the protests will not change the province’s approach to cannabis enforcement, and noted that any activity that impedes a law enforcement officer from doing their job is a violation of the law.

“Anyone who is protesting, I encourage them to do it in a legal way,” he said.

“People have the right to do that. But that doesn’t mean that the RCMP are not out there enforcing the law the way they should.”

Several Mi’kmaw leaders say the authority to sell cannabis at dispensaries in their communities is protected by treaty rights.

The question of whether Mi’kmaq have treaty rights to sell cannabis outside of federal and provincial regulations has never been fully adjudicated in Nova Scotia.

In one 2024 case involving a number of dispensaries in Millbrook, a judge threw out a treaty right challenge at an early stage in the proceedings, but left open the door for a case built on a “stronger” foundation.

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