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Page 6 OctOber 3, 2016 • Law times www.lawtimesnews.com the need for a "deep and lasting partnership." Reconciliation is no quick fix. It is a mucky battle that will take decades of work. Lawyers of all practices have an opportunity to ref lect deeply on how their work can reshape these relationships. I would encourage them to do so. LT COMMENT ©2016 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or stored in a retrieval system without written per- mission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Law Times disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reli- ance upon information in this publication. 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He joked that when he had events to talk about indigenous issues, it used to be just him and the person handling the audio-visual services. Not anymore. Now, it's a packed house. All across our country, people of immense power and privilege are speaking about the need to reaffirm each Canadian's role in re- storing relationships with indigenous peoples. Jody Wilson-Raybould told lawyers at the Canadian Bar Associa- tion's annual conference that she was committed to "re-building the nation-to-nation relationship." On Sept. 23, new lawyers were called to the bar from Lakehead University's Bora Laskin Faculty of Law, with dean Angelique Eagle- Woman giving a special address. "All of us need to know the true history of this country, includ- ing the dark chapters of the residential school experience, in order for us to achieve true reconciliation," Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of Nishnawbe Aski Nation said at the ceremony, where he received an honorary doctor of laws. ". . . All of you have an amazing opportunity to be part of this historic journey." In this issue of Law Times, Bob Rae has written eloquently about All ablaze over illegal tobacco W here there's smoke in On- tario, there's probably con- traband. We've been listening for two years as the province puffs up its chest on how it is going to stamp out the scourge of illegal smokes from First Nation reserves sneaking their way into Ontario. But still they haven't blown those smoke shacks down. According to the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco, one in three smokes in southern Ontario is contraband, while in Northern Ontario it's six in 10. This isn't just about a few pennies of lost taxes. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation filed a Freedom of Information request and found it has cost taxpayers about $9.2 bil - lion over eight years. The numbers come from the Ciga- rette Allocation System, which sets out how much untaxed (i.e., without an excise stamp) tobacco can officially be sold for consumption by Status Indians. But they don't add up. CTF claims On - tario allocates 313 million cigarettes more to aboriginal reserves than can be legally sold or consumed. "Every smoker over the age of 15, liv - ing on a reserve in Ontario, would have to smoke 61 cigarettes per day, every day, in order for Status Indians to have legally purchased cigarettes provided through the allocation system," the CTF says, noting the loss last year of federal and Ontario taxes was $1.22 billion. "Based on the government's own numbers, at minimum 47 per cent and possibly upwards of 72 per cent of all sales of tax- exempt government-allocated tobacco were made illegally to people who are not Status Indians. That means an over- allocation of around 313 mil - lion cigarettes." The CTF is part of the NCACT — comprised of retailers, manu- facturers and others with an interest in the issue — which says Ontario has dragged its tail on the issue. It makes noise but little more. In Janu - ary, the Ministry of Finance announced an OPP task force to combat illegal smokes and a few months later the unit was assigned to the Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau. The NCACT says the nine-person squad is not enough given the scope of the problem. "While we applaud assigning nine of - ficers to a task force, New Brunswick also has nine officers on their task force and look at the size of the population there," says spokesman Gary Grant. "Ontario has the worst problem in the country and they made it worse by raising taxes on smokes, making the illicit smokes more attractive. The RCMP says there are 50 illegal tobacco fac - tories rolling out to 175 orga- nized crime gangs." The RCMP currently has a 50-person task force nationally targeting contraband tobacco. Quebec, which was in the same boat as Ontario back in 2009, passed Bill 59 to create Ac - ces Tabac, which gave author- ity to every police officer, from municipal through provincial to RCMP, to seize, arrest and charge for contraband smokes. "In Ontario, if they seize, they have to call the RCMP or the Finance Ministry guys," says Grant. "But in Quebec, the police service making the bust owns the case right through court." To incent investigations, Quebec turns back fines to police services and is get - ting a two-to-one return on its investment while cutting its contraband issue in half. To be fair, putting together a criminal conspiracy case or even just apprehend - ing someone with a trunk fill of untaxed smokes requires much of the same step- by-step investigatory techniques and docu- mentation as it does to take down a major cocaine ring. Still, it's not exactly like a drug opera- tion, says Grant, a former Toronto police officer and current chairman of Toronto Crime Stoppers. "You don't make street buys and work your way up. We know who the players are," he says. "We need to get past the middle men to them." There are, however, hurdles and no-go zones — you're not going to scoop Pablo Es - cobar on your first door knock. Toby Barrett, Conservative MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk in the heart of Sim- coe's tobacco country, is also frustrated with the waiting game. His private member's bill, The Ontario Commission of Inquiry into the Black Mar - ket Trade, was voted down by the Liberal majority after second reading. It would have called a commission to probe trafficking with front-line testimony from all Ontarians, he says. "It's not just the tobacco, it's the money laundering, the human trafficking and the guns and drugs," he says, adding, "What the province has done so far is ineffectual." When it comes to the issues, he says the province has "just shoved it on to the back burner." LT uIan Harvey has been a journalist for more than 35 years writing about a di- verse range of issues including legal and political affairs. His email address is ianharvey@rogers.com. Queen's Park Ian Harvey

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