First Nations call on Ottawa to crack down on drug traffickers in their communities

Delegates vote electronically on resolutions at the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Annual General Assembly in Winnipeg on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

OTTAWA — First Nations chiefs today called on Ottawa to crack down on the people selling drugs that are claiming lives in their communities.

Chief Angela Levasseur of Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation says she brought the resolution forward at the Assembly of First Nations annual general meeting in Winnipeg because the opioid epidemic is killing members of her community.

Joseph Fourre, whose son died of fentanyl poisoning after consuming what he thought was ecstasy, spoke alongside Levasseur as they urged chiefs to support the resolution.

He says the RCMP told him that because his son consented to consuming ecstasy, there was no way to hold anyone criminally accountable for his death.

Fourre says “Harlan’s Law,” named after his son, would take on the drug traffickers who have “targeted” First Nations communities.

The proposed law would sentence drug traffickers to a minimum of 15 years in cases where death occurs from tainted drugs, and give law enforcement the authority to access victims’ cellphones to find out where the drugs were purchased.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2025.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press