Court hearing begins on charges under Tobacco Tax Act

Craig Blacksmith with the Canupawakpa Dakota First Nation has been charged with a number of offences under Manitoba's Tobacco Tax Act. Blacksmith, who is representing himself in court, a trial that began Sept. 17, said he isn't beholden to provincial law. He will argue the First Nation doesn't have official treaty status within Canada, so the government has no jurisdiction. The Dakota Chundee smoke shop south of Virden opened in 2011 and has been raided several times by police. It has since shut down. The Manitoba government has said the possession and sale of unmarked tobacco products is illegal under the Tobacco Tax Act and the law applies to all tobacco sales, both on or off reserve, by Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal businesses. The issue of illegal cigarettes has cropped up across Canada with several provinces moving to shut down the untaxed trade. Rainbow Tobacco, a company that operates in a Mohawk community near Montreal, had its stock seized in Aboriginal communities in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Grand Chief Derek Nepinak, with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said Aboriginal people have been trading tobacco with each other for thousands of years.  Nepinak told the Canadian Press that he expects the issue to go to the Supreme Court of Canada. “It's going to be a long and protracted process,” he said. “This is just the start of it.”