Premier slams highway protests, defends cannabis raids
Premier Tim Houston is slamming protestors for blocking a few Nova Scotia highways late last week after a cannabis raid in a Cape Breton First Nation.
In a lengthy post on social media, Saturday, Houston said blocking highways is unacceptable and RCMP are doing their job to uphold the law and keep Nova Scotians safe.
“They deserve respect, not confrontation,” said Houston.
“The unlawful obstruction of others is not peaceful. It undermines public safety, respect for law enforcement and the rule of law itself. Our roadways are our lifebood.”
He says that at any given time people could be travelling to medical appointments, hospital, work or caring for their families.
Houston adds, the province wants to work together on the drug crisis and not accept the “status quo”.
RCMP say it was around 7:30 a.m., Thursday, when officers searched an illegal storefront on Highway 4. Two men were arrested.
In response to this, protestors blocked access to Highway 4 in Potlotek.
Officers then left the scene on foot leaving behind their cruisers.
Seven RCMP vehicles left in Potlotek were damaged. RCMP say they had “broken windows, dents, deflated tires, removed tires, and urine-soaked interior surfaces.”
In a statement, Potlotek First Nation said it’s not a matter of enforcement but rather, jurisdiction.
“Time and time again Mi’kmaq are forced to respond when provincial laws and enforcement actions are imposed on our communities without respect to our rights, our leadership or our authority.”
One protestor told our newsroom officers took fridges, shelves and signs.
Two other highways were blocked in solidarity – highway 105 in Whycocomagh and 102 in Shubenacadie.
Crackdown
It was in December when the province ordered a cannabis crackdown.
Nova Scotia announced they would be increasing police enforcement around concerns about safety and that unregulated market with a number of stores that have been raided.
This sparked disappointment from First Nations, one who even threatened legal action.
On March 13, Sipekne’katik First Nation created its own law on the matter, which is in effect, now.
In a post on social media, Chief of Sipekne’katik First Nation Michelle Glasgow says it’s not about “weed shops” getting raided. “It’s about the government asserting jurisdiction over Our Communities and over Our Unceded Mik’maq Lands.”
“If we allow this to continue then we are allowing the assimilation of Mi’kmaq into a society that was meant to destroy us.”
At this time, no arrests have been made related to the protests.
