FSIN Slams Treaty Defence In Pasqua Pot Bust Case

FSIN Slams Treaty Defence In Pasqua Pot Bust Case

Monday, September 12, 2005 at 13:52

The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations isn’t buying the treaty-based arguments made by a supporter of some suspects in the recent record pot bust on the Pasqua reserve.

Last week, three men from the reserve made court appearances in connection to a drug sting last month that saw RCMP seize over $7.5 million in marijuana plants.

A spokesman for the trio told reporters that the charges the men faced were a violation of the treaty relationship between the Crown and First Nations.

But FSIN chief Alphonse Bird says his organization and the Pasqua First Nation leadership don’t agree with those statements.

Bird says First Nations people agree in their treaty relationship with the government to uphold the law of the land as it relates to criminal acts.

The chief of the Pasqua band recently announced that anyone involved in drug activity was not welcome in her community, and that the band was prepared to act on that stance.