Wednesday 8 June 2005

Mr. Toby Barrett (Haldimand-Norfolk-Brant): To the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Minister, your government's Smoke-Free Ontario Act and tobacco tax hikes created close to 300 smoke shops on New Credit and Six Nations. Six Nations Police and the local newspaper are reporting who benefits: the Hells Angels, the Vagabonds, organized crime. And it gets worse. I quote the Tekka newspaper: "There is specific evidence to the presence of major motorcycle gang operations, the Italian mafia, Russian mafia, Sri Lankan and Asian mafias, as well as Jamaican drug gang operatives working in the relative safety of native communities."

A Seneca Road smoke shop was shut down because of a partnership with the PLO.

Minister, do you not know what's going on at Six Nations? If you do know, why no action? What are you afraid of?

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

Tuesday 6 June 2006

Mr. Toby Barrett (Haldimand-Norfolk-Brant): To the Minister of Community Safety: Your government's Smoke-Free Ontario Act and the tax hikes have created close to 300 smoke shops on Six Nations and the New Credit reserve. The Tekka newspaper reports that smugglers and organized crime benefit from this. Just as you've left the OPP on the barricades in an untenable position, you've left the Six Nations police out on a limb. They could use some of that $9 billion that your government and other governments collect in tobacco taxes across Canada.

Minister, I'm not asking you to stick your nose into operational matters. It's not your responsibility to direct police matters. However, given the current crisis in Caledonia, I would like to know what you have done since I raised these concerns with you a year ago.

Hon. Monte Kwinter (Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services): I don't quite understand the purpose of the question, when you said right in it that I don't have any responsibility for that, and you're not asking me to stick my nose into it, and in the meantime you're asking me to stick my nose into it. If you would just clarify exactly what you want me to do, I'll be happy to respond.

Mr. Barrett: I'd be glad to clarify. We have reports of the presence of organized crime on Six Nations. It's in my hometown in Port Dover, Brantford and it's in this city. I'm afraid that Six Nations is being taken advantage of by various groups. This is reported by the Six Nations police. I quote the Tekka newspaper: "There is specific evidence of the presence of major motorcycle gang operations, Italian mafia, Russian mafia, Sri Lankan and Asian mafias, as well as Jamaican drug gang operatives working within the relative safety of native communities"; reports of Hells Angels.

Minister, you do not understand the scope of these issues that I raised a year ago. If you did understand, then please tell us what you've done to support the Six Nations. You accrue tax revenue. I requested this a year ago. I'm not asking you to direct the police. I'm offering you a chance to provide some support to the Six Nations community.

Hon. Mr. Kwinter: The support that we provide is with policing. We provide that so that they in fact deal with guns and gangs, they deal with illegal smuggling, they deal with all of the things that happen. That is what they're doing. You're asking me to do something about directing those police services to do something, and in the next sentence you say you're not asking me to do that. I'm suggesting to you that this is covered by normal police operations. They're certainly aware of that issue. This is something they deal with. Again, it is not my role to tell the police how to deal with that particular situation.