Kahnawake moves to regulate aboriginal trade in discounted cigarettes – Montreal Gazette

July 16, 2015

Kahnawake’s band council will license the local cigarette trade before the end of this summer, according to Grand Chief Joe Norton.

Under provisions outlined by the Kahnawake Tobacco Law, the industry’s stakeholders will have to submit to health and safety rules, set prices and quality control in order to obtain a license to sell cigarettes on the Mohawk territory. Though the tobacco trade has been an economic juggernaut in Kahnawake for over 20 years — employing as many as 2,000 people on the reserve — this is the first attempt at regulation.

“We need to make sure that both the customers and people in the industry are protected,” Norton said in a telephone interview with the Montreal Gazette. “I know it’s an odd thing to say about a product that’s dangerous but we need to ensure the best practices are followed. … It’s for the best of the community and the people who work in the industry.”

Read More: http://montrealgazette.com/news/kahnawake-moves-to-regulate-aboriginal-trade-in-discounted-cigarettes