HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government is directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis stores and wants help from Mi’kmaq chiefs to shut down on-reserve sales.
Justice Minister Scott Armstrong sent a letter to the province’s 13 Mi’kmaq chiefs saying there are at least 118 illegal dispensaries operating in their communities.
However, when questioned by reporters today Armstrong said he didn’t know how many illegal stores were actually on First Nation land or elsewhere in the province.
But he said there are in fact 118 illegal stores across Nova Scotia.
Nova Scotia law strictly controls the sale of cannabis in the province, but an Indigenous cannabis advocate says the government’s crackdown is “blatantly racist” and an attack on Mi’kmaq sovereignty.
Thomas Durfee says he has a legal right to sell cannabis at treaty truckhouses, which is the term used for trading posts in treaties signed by the Mi’kmaq and British Crown in the 1700s.
He is currently involved in a legal case moving through the provincial court system following a raid on one of his cannabis outlets.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2025.
