The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

C-10 LAWYERS FROM PAGE 9 he said. Also, the scope of the search warrant will be broadened. If a search warrant is issued under this new Bill, police of- ficers will be allowed to issue it at anytime, and not just within 'reason- able hours.' Dubbed a 'No Kriock Warrant' or 'No Notice Warrant', Leitold sai~ officers will be per- mitted to kick down doors and confiscate whatever they claim are the proceeds of such a including: houses, trucks and boats. The goal of the RCMP Anti Tobacco Force is to target organized crime groups and Leitold said that there are continuous references being made by police and politicians that organized crime is linked to First Nations tobacco despite the fact that there has never been any fac- tual evidence to back up this claim. In 2008, the RCMP estimated that 105 organized crime groups were involved in the trade. Leitold referred to a study conducted by the McDonald-i..aurier Insti- tute and said that out of a thousand cases exam- ined, only 5 were from the Quebec-Akwesasne border and out of that, none were linked to orga- nized crime. Leitold stated that Bill C-10 is an interfer- ence of Section 35 of the Constitution Act of Can- ada, 1982, which pro- tects 'Aboriginal" treaty rights and 'Aboriginal' self-government and also suggested that it can be deemed as cruel and unusual punishment. He also referred to R. v. Gladue and how Natives have been disproportion- ately put in jail unnec- essarily. In this historic court decision, the Su- preme Court of Canada told the government to stop jailing Native people, which it blatantly ignored and continues to do so at disproportionate rates to this day. According to the Legislative Summary on Bill C-10, "Chiefs from Akwesasne have been quoted in the media voic- ing concerns about the impact that mandatory minimum sentences may have on their communi~ ties, particularly their youth. In particular, Mo- hawk Council of Akwe- sasne District Chief Brian David is concerned that large fines and incarcera- tion will turn some youth, who are only involved in contraband · tobacco due to lack of legal employ- ment opportunities, into 'hardened criminals' and force them further into illegal activity. ·The Mohawk Council of Ak- wesasne also recently issued a press release announcing the receipt of a grant from the Gov- ernment of Ontario to assist in developing an Akwesasne Tobacco Law and ... calling on· the fed- era! government to work with them to address tobacco concerns rather than increasing sentenc- es and the enforcement presence around their community." Stephen John Ford is a Kanienkehaka lawyer from Tyendinaga. Ford described a few things that First Nations peo- ple· can do to prepare for this proposed legislation of Bill C-10: In regards to the Bill, Ford stated, "It's about denying First Na- tions people their own sources of income. It's about federal control of First Nations people and continued colonial op- pression. They don't want . us to make money." Ford said that good business practices are about making alliances and that a possible option for First Nations adminis- trations is to create their own regulations concern- ing their own tobacco. In doing so, Ford explained, "As a First Nation, you are expressing your own jurisdiction and advanc- ing your own sovereignty and that is what it's all about." Ford said that if First Nations band coun- cils pass their own legis- lation in regards to tax- ing tobacco on reserves, then the provincial gov- ernment would likely say, "You can't do that! But, that's the fight we want to have because now the onus is on them to prove they have- sovereignty over us."