TOUGH DRUG MESSAGE SENT

Illegal drug activities on the Pasqua First Nation will not be tolerated and
those involved will be dealt with harshly by the community, Chief Elaine
Chicoose said.

"We are sending a very strong message that on Pasqua First Nation we have a
zero tolerance when it comes to drugs,'' Chicoose told reporters Wednesday
at a news conference in Regina.

"We want everyone to know that Pasqua is not a place to do business, if your
business is drugs,'' she said.

Flanked by her band council and community members from both on and
off-reserve, and Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) Vice-Chief
Lawrence Joseph, Chicoose warned severe penalties will be levied against
anyone involved in the sale, use, possession, cultivation, manufacture or
promotion of illegal drugs in that community.

Sanctions against anyone charged and convicted of a drug offence include
loss of employment, termination of any benefits provided by the First
Nation, eviction from band-owned housing, public posting of names of
offenders and, in severe cases, banishment from the First Nation.

"Illegal drug activities are causing misery and turmoil in our community,
and we will not tolerate their existence on Pasqua First Nation,'' Chicoose
said, explaining Pasqua First Nation Chief and council are taking ownership
of this issue and are committed to doing everything possible to eliminate
the illegal use of drugs in their traditional territories.

The news conference was called in response to a Aug. 21 RCMP drug
investigation in which drug enforcement officers uncovered 7,592 marijuana
plants growing on the Pasqua First Nation, with a street value at about $7.5
million.

Six men, ranging in age from 18 to 57 were arrested and charged with a
number of drug offences.

"Pasqua First Nation leadership was in the process of implementing a
strategy to address illegal drugs on reserve when these arrests occurred and
the discovery of this marijuana grow operation has made us more determined
to take every measure to ensure that we have a safe and healthy community,''
she said.

Chicoose said the Pasqua First Nation will present a victim impact statement
to the courts asking that the individuals charged in connection with the
alleged grow-up be ordered to stay off the reserve as a condition of their
release.

The FSIN chiefs are "totally united in this fight against illegal drug
activities on reserves,'' and have also developed strategies to discourage
youth involvement in gang-activity in their communities, Vice-Chief Joseph
said. The chiefs have done the work now it is up to the governments to
provide the money to implement those strategies, he said.