2/9/2015 Alberta Crown stays contraband tobacco charges against former Montana FN chief » APTN National News APTN National News News that not only informs, but inspires Home » » The Shows » » Video Live Video Special Reports » » Archive » » TV » » Alberta Crown stays contraband tobacco charges against former Montana FN chief National News | 05. Feb, 2015 by Jorge Barrera | 0 Comments APTN National News EDMONTON—Alberta authorities have stayed contraband tobacco charges against the former chief of the Montana First Nation. The Alberta Crown in the case entered the stay against Carolyn Buffalo on Jan. 28, her former lawyer Julian Falconer said. Buffalo was charged four years ago under the Alberta Tobacco Act after the RCMP and agents with the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission seized 16 million cigarettes stored on the Montana First Nation reserve. The federally­licensed cigarettes were shipped by Rainbow Tobacco from Kahnawake, a Mohawk community near Montreal. Falconer said the Crown did not put any reasons on the record as to why the charges were stayed. He said there were irregularities with the search warrant used to seize the cigarettes. “It was simply a culmination of a series of mishaps that leads to the inescapable conclusion that this has been a gross waste of taxpayer money,” said Falconer. “It is a lesson in exactly how not to deal with our Aboriginal partners on complex issues that warrant sit down and negotiating rather than using the heavy club of the justice system.” Falconer said Buffalo “was dealing with a federally licensed enterprise operating out of Kahnawake” that was engaged in trade between First Nations. Falconer said the lead RCMP investigator on the case testified during that trial Buffalo believed she was following the law. “Instead of accepting this as a complex issue of historical Aboriginal trade on a nation­to­nation basis, the option was to criminalize a law­abiding citizen to basically hamper the ability for First Nations to do business amongst themselves,” said Falconer. The owner of Rainbow Tobacco, Robbie Dickson, is still facing charges. Falconer, who represents Dickson “in other jurisdictions,” said he had been advised not to speak to the media about this matter. [email protected] @APTNNews Tags: Alberta, Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, Carolyn Buffalo, Julian Falconer, Rainbow Tobacco, RCMP, Tobacco « An Aboriginal business man tells Face­to­Face about the new normal in resource extraction http://aptn.ca/news/2015/02/05/alberta­crown­stays­contraband­tobacco­charges­former­montana­fn­chief/ 1/2 2/9/2015 Alberta Crown stays contraband tobacco charges against former Montana FN chief » APTN National News Neechie Gear founder gets $10,000 award » Search... Search @APTNNews on Twitter Tweets by @APTNNews APTN National News Links Follow @APTNNews on Twitter Find Us On Facebook Follow @APTNInvestigate on Twitter Find APTN Investigates On Facebook Follow @APTNInFocus on Twitter Find APTN InFocus On Facebook Tags Aboriginal Affairs Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan AFN AFN national Chief Shawn Atleo Akwesasne Alberta Assembly of First Nations Attawapiskat British Columbia Edmonton Education environment Featured First Nations Idle No More IdleNoMore Indian Residential Schools Iqaluit Justice Labrador Manitoba Metis Mi'kmaq Murdered and missing Aboriginal women NDP New Brunswick Nigel Newlove Northwest Territories Nova Scotia Nunavut Ontario Ottawa police Prime Minister Stephen Harper Quebec RCMP Saskatchewan Tar sands Toronto Truth and Reconciliation Commission Vancouver Whitehorse Winnipeg Yellowknife Yukon Pages About APTN InFocus About APTN Investigates About APTN National News About Face to Face About Nation to Nation About The Laughing Drum APTN InFocus APTN Investigates Full Episodes Archive LIVE Send Your Comments Video Recent Stories Aboriginal man uses experience behind bars to help offenders tell their ‘Gladue’ story Yukon TV PR campaign ignores Indigenous face of territory, says filmmaker Saskatchewan premier against resource revenue sharing with First Nations Crown wants BC serial sex offender designated as dangerous offender For the Love of Matty http://aptn.ca/news/2015/02/05/alberta­crown­stays­contraband­tobacco­charges­former­montana­fn­chief/ 2/2.