Premier Blaine Higgs says the now-scrapped tax revenue-sharing agreements were unfair as they led to some First Nations communities prospering more than others. In place since 1994, the agreements helped generate millions in revenue for those communities, particularly Madawaska First Nation, which took in $124 million in shared fuel, tobacco and harmonized sales taxes between 20. In April 2021, the New Brunswick government announced it would not renew agreements with 13 Wolastoqey and Mi'kmaq communities that saw retail taxes for fuel and tobacco shared between those communities and the province.

The move is in response to the recent end to an agreement that saw the province share $1.8 million with Madawaska for taxes paid on tobacco in 2020-2021. 'If someone decides to challenge us, we're prepared to defend ourselves based on our business licensing law.' She said the new law for cannabis and tobacco is just the first step, with plans to introduce a similar law that would see the band government collect taxes on fuel and alcohol sold on-reserve. Madawaska First Nation Chief Patricia Bernard says the community's new tax laws for tobacco and cannabis will give it a competitive advantage against off-reserve retailers.

'Now you're going to be able to buy these goods cheaper on reserve, and it's going to likely cause some stir … amongst the chambers of commerce locally.'īernard said the taxes that are now applied on tobacco and cannabis sold in Madawaska First Nation are as much as half the rate for similar products sold at neighbouring retailers off-reserve, giving the First Nation a competitive advantage. 'It's really going to be unfortunate, because the whole purpose of these tax agreements was to create a fair playing field of sales taxes on- and off-reserve,' Bernard said. In response to the province cancelling a series of tax revenue-sharing agreements it held with Wolastoqey First Nations, Madawaska has enacted its own cannabis and tobacco licensing act, allowing the band government to set a tax rate for those products and collect the revenues, says Chief Patricia Bernard.

Madawaska First Nation has gone ahead and cut out the New Brunswick government from taxes collected on tobacco and cannabis sold on-reserve.

Con by Patricia Logan