Tobacco manufacturers told, internal law won’t stop Bill C-10 By Donna Duric, Writer

Six Nations Band Council has no concrete plan to fight the impending Bill C-10.  With Elected Chief Ava Hill at the helm of a community meeting on the impending Tackling Contraband Tobacco Act (Bill C-10) last week, she called on the community to help them come up with strategies to fight the bill as it continues to wind its way through parliament.  The bill aims to amend the Criminal Code to make trafficking in “contraband” tobacco an offence punishable by a maximum of five years in prison. It has already passed second reading in the House of Commons.  About 60 community members, including local tobacco manufacturers, attended the meeting at Polytech last Wednesday night.  But before the public meeting got underway, moderator Sandy Porter asked the audience if they wanted the media (The Turtle Island News was the only media present) to leave before the strategy session got under way.  No one in the audience agreed with the suggestion. Elected Chief Hill explained parliamentary processes, saying she expects the bill to pass through the Senate and become law before parliament breaks for the summer recess in late June.