Sipekne’katik First Nation bans N.S. premier, ministers in cannabis spat

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INDIAN BROOK - A Nova Scotia First Nation says it has banned the province's premier and two of his senior ministers from band lands. 

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/12/2025 (300 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

INDIAN BROOK – A Nova Scotia First Nation says it has banned the province’s premier and two of his senior ministers from band lands. 

The Sipekne’katik First Nation says Premier Tim Houston, Attorney General Scott Armstrong, and Leah Martin, the minister responsible for leading negotiations on Aboriginal and treaty rights, aren’t welcome, branding them “‘undesirables” in a statement Tuesday.

It’s the latest salvo since the community and other First Nations in the province criticized the provincial government last week for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis.

Fishing boats from the Sipekne'katik First Nation prepare for the start of its self-regulated treaty lobster fishery in Saulnierville, N.S. on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
Fishing boats from the Sipekne'katik First Nation prepare for the start of its self-regulated treaty lobster fishery in Saulnierville, N.S. on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

The directive from Armstrong has sparked criticism that the government may be interfering with law enforcement to target First Nations communities.

The Mi’kmaq community near Shubenacadie says Tuesday that a signed band council resolution declares that the Nova Scotia government has no jurisdiction on reserve lands.

Chief Michelle Glasgow stated that Houston’s government has violated constitutionally-protected Mi’kmaw rights, and that any trespassing on their land is subject to a $50,000 fine.

Glasgow adds in a statement the banning is as much for the protection of the community as it is for the politicians.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2025.

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