A lawsuit has been filed in a Regina courtroom calling on the Saskatchewan government to quit taxing purchases of tobacco on reserves.
Currently, citizens on-reserve are allowed to buy 200 units of tobacco, or one carton, per week.
Anything above that limit is subject to a tax by the provincial government.
The Merchant Law Group is aiming to change that.
It has filed a legal action calling on the money collected through the tax to be returned to First Nations people and for the government to declare that the collection of tobacco tax on reserve is unconstitutional.
Lawyer Tony Merchant says the government is infringing on treaty obligations:
“Merchant Law Group’s view is this is the thin edge of the wedge. If they begin to say, “Well, we can tax over a certain amount for certain things”, then it will go to the next issue, and the next issue and the next issue — and that endangers the treaty right of no taxation.”
He adds the amount of money collected through the tax so far is fairly low, but it should still be given back to First Nations people through some sort of process that could be decided upon in the future.