‘We’re going to fight back’: Protest held to fight closure of Moncton cannabis dispensary

A protest was held in Moncton over the closure of a cannabis dispensary.

The Province of New Brunswick has shut down an unlicensed cannabis store in Moncton, but the owners say they’re going to fight back.

Around 30 people gathered in front of a Department of Justice and Public Safety location in Moncton Wednesday afternoon.

The peaceful protest was in response to the raid and closure of the L’Nuk Lounge, an Indigenous owned business on Germain Street.

“We want to put Susan Holt and the Minister of Public Safety on blast,” said Cody Caplin, one of the owners of L’Nuk.

Caplin said a public safety team raided the store on April 2 and products and money were seized.

The dispensary is currently closed and the windows are boarded up.

A sign posted by the province states an investigation was performed under the authority of New Brunswick’s Cannabis Control Act, the criminal code and the Tobacco Tax Act and alleges that offences under the Tobacco Tax Act and Cannabis Control Act have been performed at the Germain Street location.

“As a result – this property has been temporarily seized by the Government of New Brunswick in accordance with the Civil Forfeiture Act under control of the Attorney General of New Brunswick,” reads the sign.

L’Nuk, owned by Caplin and his three brothers from Eel River Bar First Nation, said they plan on fighting the charges.

“That’s a lie. We’re going to prove that in court,” said Caplin. “We’re not standing for this no more. We’re going to fight back until our last breath. We’re going to fight on every front.”

Caplain said L’Nuk has been raided 14 times in the past three years or so.

“This is not illegal to us. We are Mi’kmaq, we have sovereign status. We are our own nation. They have no jurisdiction over us at all. We are on unceded Mi’kmaq territory,” said Caplin.

Former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Del Riley was invited by the Mi’kmaq nation to come to Moncton to be part of the protest.

He’s come to New Brunswick a couple times over the last few years for various court cases he said are in violation of Mi’kmaq rights.

“The Mi’kmaq nation, they have the absolute title to the land here. They’ve never surrendered anything,” said Riley.

Riley said the Caplin brothers and other Mi’kmaq business owners have constitutional rights to sell tobacco and cannabis products.

“The province doesn’t have any legal authority over the Mi’kmaq nation. That’s their problem, so they’ve got to sit down and talk. I can help them understand it,” said Riley.

Caplin said the raids have been hard on him financially and are causing a lot of stress for him and his brothers.

There are court dates in April and May for various charges and he’s hoping the province will release the building back to them before the end of April because it’s supposed to be a 30-day possession.

“If not, we’re probably just going to open back up,” said Caplin. “Same location.”

New Brunswick RCMP spokesperson Hans Ouellette said the search conducted at L’Nuk was led by New Brunswick Justice and Public Safety.

“The RCMP’s role in these searches has been limited to providing assistance,” said Ouellete in an email.

In an email statement to CTV News, the Department of Justice and Public Safety confirmed their peace officers were at the L’nuk Lounge the L’nuk Trading Post on April 2.

“Circumstances differ from recent operations outside of the province, where this location is not situated on First Nations territory. The department has no further comment at this time,” reads the statement.

The department added the matter remains under investigation.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.