Karl Dockstader said all┬аhe wanted to do was bring a carton of tobacco to his cousin.
The┬аOneida Nation of the Thames man, who lives in Niagara Falls, Ont.,┬аsaid he bought the about $40┬аworth of tobacco from Seneca One Stop in the U.S. on April 23 before returning to Canada via the Rainbow Bridge, but┬аborder agents started asking questions.
Dockstader, a journalist and executive director of the Niagara Regional Native Centre,┬аsaid they wouldn’t let him bring the tobacco over the border unless he paid a duty tax.
“First off, it’s a traditional item for our people, but secondarily, I have special rights as a First Nations person where I don’t have to pay duty. The customs officer disagreed,” the 42-year-old told CBC Hamilton in an interview.
Dockstader┬аsaid he┬аhighlighted┬аthe Jay Treaty тАФ an agreement signed in 1794 by the U.K. and the U.S. that says┬аIndigenous people could┬аtravel freely across the┬аthen newly established┬аborder.┬а
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)┬аwouldn’t comment on this specific case due to privacy regulations.
But CBSA did say while the U.S. honours the treaty, this country┬аdoes not as “Canadian courts have ruled that the Jay Treaty was abrogated by the War of 1812.”
Canada should honour treaties, lawyer said
Dockstader said the border agents were friendly, but told him it wasn’t worth the hassle of┬аtrying to bring the tobacco across the border without paying a fee, which he felt was disrespectful.
He said he ended up leaving without the tobacco and a $72 fine,┬аbut added this isn’t about the money or the tobacco.
“It represents a much larger what I would call┬аdisrespect that┬аCanada┬аis giving to First Nations people. I think it’s rude treatment,” he said.
Sara Mainville, a partner with┬аJFK Law LLP┬аbased in Toronto and an Anishinaabe woman from┬аCouchiching First Nation, isn’t representing Dockstader, but┬аwas asked by CBC to comment on what he says he experienced.
She said┬аshe agrees with him.
“One of the things we’ve always been faced with is to prove our rights because Canada is ignoring these treaties for such a long time.”
Mainville said treaties are part of a whole historical relationship.
While Indigenous people┬аremember pacts like the Jay Treaty, Canada ignores some of them, she┬аsaid.
“The Jay Treaty is one of the things that cemented a strong relationship such that Indigenous peoples were military allies of what would become Canada,” Mainville said.
“You can’t just pick and choose what obligations you’re going to [honour], it’s part of this relationship and that’s the whole idea of┬аreconciliation.”
Mainville also said┬аthe tobacco isn’t merely a carton of cigarettes.
“The tobacco itself is something that is very instrumental in relationships┬аand trading and treaties itself, the sharing of tobacco. That’s symbolism that I don’t think is lost upon┬аMr. Dockstader and shouldn’t necessarily be lost on Canada,” she said.
Dockstader said he won’t pay the fine and┬аis fighting to get the tobacco back.
“I would love it if some of the Canadian officials would walk their talk on reconciliation and just give us our rights to freely cross the border with our personal items back.”
