Is it time to clamp down on cheap off-reserve smokes?

There really isn't a reserve close enough to make to make it worth while to travel to for smokes. I don't smoke anyway. Maybe in a few decades, smoking will be illegal everywhere. Then smokes won't be sold period and the problem will be solved.
The practice should be clamped down on and in a big way. Now, in todays society, the main problem is that everyone wants fast money and easy money. This is both native and non native alike. Its one of the things we have in common.
Maybe there should be a way that people can come up with a solution where you have to work for their money. You know, just like the rest of us. You don't make money as fast, but you make the money just the same. But, I guess in this modern world, fast easy, or illegal money is considered much better.
I personally think reserves should work like a Hutterite colony. Everyone works towards a common goal using the skills they have. All the money goes into one pot and then its divided equally among everyone. Ya, I know, craziness

Like a hutterite colony? If that is your ideal scenario then you have never actually been to a hutterite colony have you?

Hutterite colonies have a couple of beliefs you might have overlooked. They immidiately pull their children from school as early as possible (locally they all are forced to quit midway through grade 8 when they hit the minium age my province allows). The women are second class citizens. They are completely unable to ascend the male heirarchy, have to wait until after the men finish eating to eat and are even segregated in their church. Lastly all outside information is kept from the Hutterite members (no tvs, no interent, all radios in all vehicles removed, no newspapers etc). Lastly if somebody becomes brave enough to leave the colony they get nothing but the shirt on their back no matter how many years they have worked for the colong.

If this travesty of a society is your "ideal" I suggest you move back to te 1500s (you know before democracy, women's rights, equality, enlightenment etc). Personally it almost makes me sick to think 15,000 women live in Canada under those conditions today, some right down the road.

As for the smokes issue above the answer is obvious. Evenly tax everybody for buying smokes. No exceptions. The logic being that the tax is supposed to offset the increase in health costs from people that smoke so why treat natives any different? I fully agree with their desire for self representation and self determination however I also believe that they should pay taxes the same as all other Canadians with no exceptions.

I say equality for all. Equal rights and equal taxation.

OK, fine Western Guy, bad example. How about a collective unit with a slightly more modern approach. The idea of just working together toward a common goal and splitting the profits equally. Sound better? Christ man, grow the hell up. I think the term I used was "Like a Hutterite colony" Doesn't mean it has to be like them, just the collective group towards a common goal. Then they have something to work towards and have pride in themselves and the group.
But I do agree with your last paragraph after the blind rant. Tax everyone the same, treat everyone the same. It would help.

remember your history of the Boston tea party? same thing is happening here; the government has over taxed a natural product that is grown on this planet. if the so called people that want healthier live should not consume these products and avoid them when possible. I do not like toxic drugs in my food, but I consume them every day. fruit gets it from the air and the soil. veg's from the soil and so called safe chemicals that are used on them. are meat consumes products in there feed whether it is grass or grain they eat. fish live in water that we have polluted. I enjoy a smoke and it is my choice. I can not afford today prices on a lot of things. I choose not to rob a bank or roll a person in the back streets of this place we call home. If smoking is so bad then why do we put up with alcohol which is much worst. Ask some one who lost a love one to a drunk driver. Ask some one who has a love one go to hard drugs because the alcohol wasn't enough any more. Ask some one who had a love one shot and killed when some one needed money for their habit. The people I know that buy cheap cigs are not the rich but the poor. This world has already taken enough from them. The government should taxe the hell out the product that rich consume and give more breaks to the little guy. IF YOU DON'T LIKE SMOKING THEN DON'T DO IT AND GET OFF MY BACK.

my personal opinionis who realy cares if it not hurting you what do you care , enjoy your life and stop worying about it , the goverment set it up this way so they couldtaxe the hell out of us,do you realy think they give arats ass if we quit smoking no, they would only find something else to tax, look at the tax on gas, when you purchase some thing for your home, or for your pleasure,they tax that to but I never hear anybody bitch about it, when I pick up my beer at the beer store I bitch about the price but it dont do any good.

ken

i agree with wayne, we all gonna die, enjoy the ride. cheap smokes have probably saved some arrogant do gooder a many punch in the face due to the fact that when down on your luck, atleast you gotta bag of natives and you dont gotta spange or pick butts just to feed your demons. and just because you don't smoke doesn't mean you don't feed your demons. look death in the face and never turn your back. the world is goin mad max. i don't trust people with no addictions. period. and i admire people who never started smoking, but who ever says just BAN it or TAX it more have serious ego problems. revenue from cigarette tax is already more than enough to pay for damages caused by smoking. you know, sometimes things that hurt you are completely necessary in your life.

Used to that all through the 90's. Once per month, take the girlfriend for a night out, cross the Cornwall border into Massena, stop by the Indian reserve, buy 3 cartons each. Head off to a Massena bar, have a few drinks, dance, meet the locals. Cross back around 1-2 AM. Tell the nightshift border officer we were getting together with American friends for a monthly night out. Thank you very much... drive safely !! Butts were cheaper 'cause #1 they were American cigs #2 from an American Indian reserve. Double Discount !!

first i dont like the way the comments are POSTED the posted comments AGAINST smokes are up front i think we should start attacking the people who make the rules i hope some day their health does not depend on me

Cheap smokes, sure why not? The government claim they keep the price high to discourage people from smoking. Do they allow natives to buy them cheap so they will all die from it? If you can buy them cheap go for it. The government makes laws that allow some people to go beyond the law. So who are the real criminals here? Those in charge of course.

I know tobacco's supposed to be tax free, it says duty free on every package. This was put on them too get people to join the army during the second world war. Free smokes were even given to them. The Gov't had to put it on there in 1945. So now the gov't is stealing money off smokers only, because they work for $million's , sure thier pretending thier paying for tax's but during the war they said they would stop Gov't taxs after the war, now taxs increased by the thousand. So just pay double for tobbacco, so every politition can ask for a wage increase, every year. They're stealing from old age pensioners to 67 yrs. of age instead of 65 like always. United States is doing fine but the Gov't's in debit. Cheaper fuel canadian Gov'ts give it to them to refine instead of building our own refinery's, and causing more job's. But political people get thousands in wages so they can afford it. Gas is costing much less in the states, Canadians are paying for it. Ottawa's making millions off poor people to prove a country's paying it's way by stealing land off the natives, and payin a few of them nickels and dimes. If fuel was cheaper here, the continental gov'ts can't make the free money. No one can afford to beat the Gov't in court. The Gov.t's got thousands of lawyers to take anyone on. So I guess there's no use trying, It's got a lot to do with money, and who's pocket its coming from.

I love a good smoke. cant wait too get off this planet lol hahahhahaha. if we all quite smoking,drinking and driving the govn would go broke.Hey maybe they would give us a 50 percent discount to start again hahahah.Ya and dont forget to not drink and drive it kills to many innocent people and im seriuos about that part.If your gonna drink stay at home for everone elses sake.ill go and get my booze and stay home its a lot cheaper than bars and the risk of hurting someone.the govn loves to catch the drinkers behind the wheel makes them a lot more money in fines than it use to,and thats money that they love so have a smoke a drink screw your brains out take 2 asprin and call me in the morning hahahahhahahahahaha lollol lmao

i agree with you a1000 percent Glen and the only good laywer is a 86uyhiliikpgtrdfiki lawyer lol we are all screwed when it comes to the govnts will ps and bill

Why do they keep saying the taxes collected from cigarettes help pay the high health cost of sick smokers? It is completely opposite. If a smoker gets lung cancer they will die quickly and possibly young. It is the people that die slow deaths at an elderly age of 90 or above that really cost the health care system a lot. They are the ones using health services for a long time.

I live in Ontario. Sure I buy my smokes from the indian reserve. I also gas up at the reserve while I am there. So What?? Instead of our Government and fat politicians worrying about what I do..Maybe we should also look at the big pay politicians get and the gold plated pension they get after a few years in service. Also...why do we pay far more than the u.s. people do for the same item in stores? Reason....for every dollar we spend our Govt. get's 13% tax.

When the government starts spending wisely we will stop buying tax free items....not.

A simple way to curb this exploitation is to let the natives sell the smokes off the reserve tax free. Then the governments that have lost revenue claw back the taxes from the amounts that are paid out regularly to the bands. The practice would soon stop. It's about time that the natives learn that they can't take, take, take and give nothing in return.

Sounds like a good deal. Kill yourself for less. Works for me, as long as I don't have to pay for health care for these dumb a**es that smoke. OH WAIT, I do have to pay!!!!! Maybe with the cheap smokes they would die faster and cost less in the end. Wishful thinking.

Don't kid yourself John you aren't paying for smokers health care and wishing death on anyone isn't cool. Weather you agree or not. Nothing is as it seems. The media tells us what the higher ups want us to know. Don't forget, the government is a business and the biggest business around.

Sorry I meant Cartel or Mafia what ever you want to call the government.

It is sad that we as the citizens are so blind as to what is going on.

This is just another story to take your mind off of what is really going on around the world.

You know, loss of jobs, lower pay, part time hours so you can't be eligable for benefits, or last but not least the way the governments have been managing OUR money.

Even if our government did get these tax dollars you wouldn't know what they were doing with it anyways. Would you?

This is a story about thiefs stealing from thiefs and nothing else. The only people most of us would allow to charge us for a service not knowing what each and every dollar goes to is the government.

They can charge us whatever they want and we have no choice but to pay it. If i decided to send you a bill each month for $300.00 and told you it was for a grocery list of things, you wouldn't pay it without knowing where each and every dollar went. However, for the government it is okay. We let them tell us story after story and we take it all in.

It is sad. We as citizens cannot see where our money is going, it disappears into thin air until a scandal breaks lose. Which is simply another corrupt politician calling his friend in the media to give him a hit story and rat out the current person in charge.

This is not news. This happens everyday with any product you can think of. The only difference, is the government makes $5.00 a pack from every smoker out there. It really adds up.

If the government really, truly cared about it's citizens' health, they would ban smoking altogether and make it illegal... after all, depending on how you look at it, isn't smoking a form of suicide or homicide. And last time I checked... homicide is a crime and the government should do more about people contemplating suicide than making $5. per pack off them. And tobacco companies should be treated as potential killers... they're the ones holding the "smoking gun".

To all of the smokers here that feel so hard done by paying through the teeth for your taxes.

Give up your free health care, and then buy as many cigarettes as you wish tax free. If you want to buy from a reserve to dodge taxes...give up your free health care.

That simple.

So its ok to buy cigs from the store at outrageous prices and have health care, but not to buy them somewhere else cheaper? Are you out of your ever loving head? All you people screaming about health care should be bitching at the big companies that are producing the product in question. If health care is the real issue for most of you, then booze should be banned as well. If I light up and cigarette and go for a drive, odds are I'm not going to kill anyone, but have a drink or two and go for a drive, ...how much do you think the odds have gone up then? Even if someone doesn't die, but the perp gets caught, he gets a slap on the wrist and gets to keep his license so he can do it again and again and again. How much do you think the health care pays for the people who do get injured from these drunk or typsy drivers? As a smoker, that got cought by the bug years ago and have never had a health related issue to it, I say suck it up to the government and deal with it. You get enoughof our money from everything else, pay cheques, food, gas, vacations, everything. and don't forget folks they tax us TWICE for earning a wage. They take money off every pay and then they want more at the end of the year!!!!!!

Read my comment carefully before stating that I am "out of my ever loving head". I stated that if you want to buy taxes at the reserve to dodge taxes, give up your free health care as well.

Smoking costs the health care system far more than drunk drivers do...smoking is a risk factor in developing almost every type of cancer, every type of circulatory related problem, diabetes etc. You may not have health related risks now...but your tax dollars you spend on cigarettes are barely covering the increased risk that you will eventually require very long hospital stays, chemotherapy, oxygen tanks, homehealth...the whole works. You will eventually become a societal scab and you should pay extra now for this burden.

"The people bitching about health care should be bitching at the companies producing them". I will and I do...they pay heavy taxes and are constantly being sued, they are pretty well covered. Don't try to dump responsibility on them for your addictions though, you are a big boy and can make big boy decisions...one of which is paying extra taxes to cover your "free" health care service.

Drunk driving is problematic for socialized medicine (not as much as smoking) but I agree the fines could be increased to drunk drivers to reflect the potential societal and health care related costs here as well.

I smoke and would give up my free health care except it is not free. Drop my income taxes by 40%, take the taxes off cigs and then we can talk. As far as alcohol....it costs more...it is just less direct. Divorce, Fetal alocohol ,drunk driving, property damage, broken homes, treatment centers, sheer lifestyle illness, ....I could go on but if you think about the social impact caused by alcohol abuse it is very very expensive. If you are going to take the time to measure..measure the total impact. Dont pick and choose what suits your stand.

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