Another Kanesatake Cannabis Dispensary Burned to the Ground 

A Mohawk cannabis dispensary was burned to the ground early Wednesday morning in Kanesatake.

Firefighters were called to the territory around 3:15 a.m. and quickly discovered “elements that led them to believe the fire was a case of arson,” according to the Sûreté du Québec. The SQ had an arson investigator on site on Wednesday, but did not provide further information.

No arrests have been made.

The dispensary, Sweet Grass Lodge, had previously been targeted by an assailant who opened fire on the building in a pre-dawn attack last November. Witnesses described a “brrrap” of automatic gunfire, and security footage shows the assailant using a car to ram the dispensary. Police later confirmed the car was stolen and the gunman escaped on foot.

Wednesday’s suspected arson is one of nearly 20 that have taken place on the north shore territory since last summer, according to police sources. One nearby owner, Barry Bonspille, says his shop was targeted twice and that he now has 24-hour-a-day security to prevent future attacks.

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Sweet Grass Lodge owner Norman Théoret is one of 17 defendants in an illegal dumping scheme that saw outside construction companies unload thousands of tonnes of contaminated soil onto the territory’s shoreline. Last summer, The Rover followed a truck from a site in Laval — where it was loaded with old asphalt — back to Théoret’s lakeside property.

The scheme served two purposes. It allowed outside excavation companies like Nexus to save money on disposal fees by not dumping in a provincially-licensed triage centre. It also helped folks like Théoret and other dispensary owners expand their shoreline property and grow their businesses.

None of these allegations have been proven in court but Quebec is pursuing Théoret, Bonspille and 15 others for alleged violations of the province’s environmental laws.

Incumbent council chief Serge “Otsi” Simon says this is the 38th major fire in Kanesatake since former Grand Chief James Gabriel’s house was burned down by arsonists in 2004. 

The fire at Sweet Grass broke out as Kanesatake is in the midst of a massive political crisis. An election scheduled for Aug. 2 was cancelled at the last minute by the campaign’s chief electoral officer, who suggested the incumbent chiefs extend their mandate by six months while the community worked out problems with their electoral code.

Last week, the federal government threatened to impose an outside manager to govern Kanesatake until the chiefs extend their mandate. But the community countered by holding a series of public meetings and demanding that Ottawa fund a new election.

Quebec’s Indigenous Affairs Minister had warned Kanesatake’s band council that political instability could be seized on by gangsters to further embed themselves in the Kanesatake’s cannabis market. At the time, he was hopeful that a new election would resolve the community’s toxic politics.

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