“We are integrating Budzilla Cannabis INC. into Aboriginal communities in a meaningful, positive, and substantial way. With the use of hemp and cannabis, we create opportunities which enhance personal growth in spiritual, healthy personal use and medical treatments. With education, goodwill and participation we will fully be part of communities by providing educational support and economic opportunities. We want to uphold traditional values with utmost respect of the people for we are those people.
Our goals are to have respect and dignity shown towards Indigenous traditions. We also want to participate in aggro tourism opportunities that are sustainable and use renewable energy while looking forward to a greener future. We create and implement system wide policies to uphold an excellence in standards.”
Rejean Houle, Founder – C.E.O.,
Budzilla Dispensary Clinic Cooperative,
Budzilla Cannabis INC.
With a young, fast-growing and increasingly better-educated population, a significant land and resource base, and a growing business sector, Aboriginal Canadians are well positioned to help build a vibrant Canadian economy. With this focus in mind Budzilla will participate in full communal integration by supporting aboriginal communities. We intend to integrate our cannabis retail stores on indigenous territories by partnering with said communities. We also intend to participate in shaping bylaws and policies within this industry. We will set aside funds and participate in a taxation system that will benefit the local communities on a direct impact level.
The approach that we are pursuing under the Framework recognizes that Budzilla Cannabis INC. cannot act alone, that we have to focus on priorities, and that money is only part of the solution. The Framework will focus the our actions on priority areas to unlock the full economic potential of Aboriginal Canadians, their communities, and their business partnerships by taking realistic steps to have a measurable impact on the lives of Aboriginal people.
Over the past 20 years, there have been significant improvements in the economic outcomes of Aboriginal Canadians. Labour force participation, self-employment and earned income have all increased significantly. The opportunities for Aboriginal economic development have never been greater. Private investment is increasing in every region of the country and there is a demonstrable interest on the part of the non-Aboriginal private sector to work with Aboriginal businesses and communities.
Indigenous communities tend to have a special relationship with their lands. To them, land is a source of both knowledge and strength. In some Indigenous cultures, land is not just an abstraction but includes “people and animals, rocks and trees, lakes and rivers” such that “humans held certain obligations to the land, animals, plants, and lakes in much the same way that we hold obligations to other people.”
Budzilla Cannabis INC. will work collaboratively with Indigenous communities, adopt best business practices, facilitate solutions and mitigate environmental challenges. These collaborations could be immensely helpful in Canada’s domestic implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
UNDRIP states that Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands or territories and other resources. The declaration also provides that states shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the Indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, in particular in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources. Further, UNDRIP declares that provinces should provide effective mechanisms for just and fair redress for any such activities, and take appropriate measures to mitigate adverse environmental, economic, social, cultural or spiritual impacts.
UNDRIP contains provisions concerning Indigenous self-determination and development that are vitally important for reconciliation. Article 3 states that Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination, and may freely determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. Similarly, Article 20(1) enshrines the right of Indigenous peoples “to maintain and develop their political, economic and social systems or institutions, to be secure in the enjoyment of their own means of subsistence and development, and to engage freely in all their traditional and other economic activities.”
UNDRIP also enshrines the rights of Indigenous peoples to maintain, control, protect, and develop their traditional knowledge, and the manifestations of their sciences, technologies,
and cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds, medicines, knowledge of the properties of flora, as well as the right to maintain, control, protect, and develop their intellectual property. In addition, “Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands or territories and
other resources.
Our agenda is to work cooperatively with government, law enforcement, academia, science, business and communities as we build a safe and economically viable cannabis industry for all of Canada.
An Indigenous cannabis industry has been in existence for decades and now, it is flourishing with the release of a draft federal legislation with regional affiliates across the country. Indigenous people and nations are not only showing an interest, they are already developing or expanding current operations. From growing quality medical cannabis to extracting and producing high THC & CBD concentrates, and dispensing those medicines to the populace, Indigenous people and nations are very involved in the cannabis industry. And, interest and development from Indigenous individuals, communities, leaders and businesses continues to grow exponentially.
Specifically, Our role is the following, but not limited to the self-regulation of Indigenous medical cannabis industry through the application of Indigenous political and economic principals and governance that will:
o- Uphold Indigenous sovereignty self-determination;
o- Protect minors and families;
o- Keep organized crime out of legit Indigenous hemp and cannabis industries;
o- Provide the education, awareness, policy and capacity necessary to provide quality control and safe handling;
o- Develop a cannabis treatment program to combat the opioid crisis that has gripped Indigenous and mainstream society;
o- Ensure standardized testing and consistency of product quality;
o- Safety and security;
o- Education and awareness within the industry and consumers;
o- Regulate pricing of products;
o- Generate new training, jobs and economy of scale for Indigenous people and nations;
o- Ensure fair wages, benefits and a safe work environment for all employees; and,
o- To promote the overall health and well being of all communities.
Protecting Indigenous sovereignty and Inherent rights to the cannabis plant and our right cultivate, process, dispense and transport cannabis and hemp is our primary objective.
Budzilla Cannabis INC. is a forward-thinking company which recognizes that First Nation, Métis and Inuit partnerships make good business sense. We are expanding engagement with these communities and spearheading cooperation. With these ideas in mind … The sky is the limit!