Indigenous cannabis shop owners fight Ottawa closures

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeNewsLocal NewsPublic Service Indigenous cannabis shop owners fight Ottawa closures Two members of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte say their landlords evicted their shops after Ottawa police contacted them. Author of the article: By Matteo Cimellaro Published Sep 14, 2026 Last updated 1 hour ago 6 minute read Join the conversation Gabriel Maracle, a member of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and a Carleton University political science professor, says cities and police often go after landlords to avoid constitutional challenges with business operators.  PHOTO BY TONY CALDWELL /POSTMEDIA Article content The email came one day in May, 2025. Article content Bryan Brant’s landlord said the police had contacted him about his cannabis dispensary and that Brant was being evicted. He had 48 hours to vacate his shop — Native Cannabis Depot — on Bank Street. Article content Article content Brant, as an Indigenous businessperson, claimed he had rights to open and run such an unlicensed shop. But the closure became just one of several in Ottawa that he and another Indigenous owner have been fighting. Article content Article content Brant and Robert Fisher separately owned unlicensed shops and were evicted last year after their landlords were contacted by the Ottawa Police Service. Article content The Evening Citizen The Ottawa Citizen’s best journalism, delivered directly to your inbox by 7 p.m. on weekdays. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Article content Fisher and Brant both subsequently filed complaints at the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal against the Ottawa Police Services Board, claiming the police’s actions were “abusive, discriminatory and racist,” and that they had treaty rights to operate the businesses, according to tribunal documents. Those complaints were dismissed due to jurisdictional issues, but Fisher has also filed an application in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Article content Their fight is part of a larger struggle over whether Indigenous business owners should be able to open unlicensed pot and tobacco shops off reserves, or whether there should be a separate licensing system for them altogether. Article content “The Mohawk people have faced indisputable historic racial discrimination and economic…