Jump to full article: Saskatoon (Sas) Star Phoenix (ca), 2010-03-18
Author: Hannah Scissons, The StarPhoenix
Intro: The proliferation of tax-free tobacco products on reserves will be addressed in next week's provincial budget, Premier Brad Wall said in a speech Wednesday.
In his "state of the province" address to the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce at TCU Place, Wall said the province needs to take some steps to reduce tobacco use and cited a report saying one of the biggest obstacles to that has been the lack of taxation on tobacco products sold on First Nations.
"Smoking remains one of the most harmful and costly health issues. The financial cost is great; the human cost is greater," said Wall. "And the problem continues to be greatest among our First Nations people."
Wall referred to Statistics Canada surveys from 2007-08 that showed the rate of smoking to be twice as high among the aboriginal population (45.3 per cent) in Saskatchewan compared to the non-aboriginal population (23.3 per cent). . . .
"Together in partnership with First Nations, maybe the objective should be we don't have tax-free tobacco," he said. "That would have to be a decision First Nations are a part of, because it's a treaty right."
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