A federal government agency is funding an experimental housing project on the site of a controversial, large-scale marijuana grow op in the Haudenosaunee community of Six Nations in southwest Ontario.
Next Generation Manufacturing Canada, a federal agency under Industry, Science and Economic Development Canada, provided a $3.7 million grant to the Toronto-based construction firm Horizon Legacy for the project.
Horizon Legacy has partnered with Six Nations architect Brian Porter and his firm Two Row Architect.
But the project is set for a plot of land shared with a new marijuana plantation that’s facing community pressure to shut down. Legacy Farms has become a lightning rod for controversy in Six Nations since greenhouses began to go up this year. Residents object to its over 70 sprawling greenhouses and the constant traffic of trucks, and are unhappy at the prospect of further large-scale construction in the community, which is about 100 kilometres southwest of Toronto.
Horizon Legacy says the $10 million, 30-unit project will be “the largest multi-storey Indigenous housing development” in the country, and be constructed with robotics.
A massive marijuana grow operation in the heart of Six Nations of the Grand River is raising concerns that the cannabis industry is getting out of control. CBC’s Jorge Barrera investigates where it came from and meets the community members fighting to shut it down.
Horizon Legacy CEO Nhung Nguyen told CBC News she’s aware of “issues” with the location, but hopes any controversy won’t overshadow the potentially cutting-edge project which, she says, could revolutionize construction in First Nations.
“This technology will be, we believe, transformational for Canada,” said Nguyen.
Horizon Legacy is developing the use of a robotic arm, called Val 2.0, that acts like a portable 3D printer, pouring out a special concrete mix to build walls and structures. The company recently used it for a row-house project in Gananoque, Ont.
The project in Six Nations will be the first time the technology will be used to raise load-bearing walls. If successful, the project could be replicated in other First Nations, allowing rapid housing construction in a sector facing a labour shortage, she said.
The construction firm has no connection to Legacy Farms, says Nguyen.
The building will be called Eh ni da se, which means “new moon” in the language of the Cayuga, according to Horizon Legacy’s website.
The Cayuga are one of the six nations that make up the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which maintains a traditional governance structure separate from elected band councils.
Legacy Farms is owned by Porter’s son Aaron Porter, and is licensed by the Six Nations Cannabis Commission.
The commission was created by the elected band council to regulate cannabis production and retail on the reserve. The band, in an exercise of sovereignty, created its own cannabis rules outside of federal and provincial laws.
Resident Nancy Porter — a distant relative of both men — has rallied community members to shut down Legacy Farms. The grow op, with its berm and greenhouses, mars her horizon and looms in her kitchen window.
“It’s like a pain that won’t go away,” she said.
She says she sees trucks rumbling by every day with grow op supplies and white vans shuttling in workers from outside the territory. Its construction disrupted the land’s natural drainage, causing flooding along neighbouring properties, including her yard.
She only found out about the housing project when she was informed by CBC News.
Neither the community nor the band council were notified of the project by Horizon Legacy or Brian Porter. No notification was required.
She says the new project also needs to be shut down.
“What is the big deal, hiding everything?” she said.
Several generations of Porter’s direct family — her parents, grandparents and great-grandparents — farmed soy and wheat on the land that’s now the site of the grow op and housing project. As a child she used to roam and play throughout the property, she says. The grow op sits partly on what was once her family’s land — sold last year by her brother.
She says the band council and commission have ignored her questions and concerns. Neither the council nor commission responded to CBC News’s requests for comment.
“I ain’t going to live another year through this,” she said. “Something’s got to give.”
Some community members say the Legacy Farms controversy proves the cannabis industry in Six Nations is out of control, and have raised questions about the influx of workers from outside the reserve.
Aaron Porter says those migrant workers come through an agency and that he’s checked to make sure they are all legally allowed to work in Canada.
He would not provide the name of the agency, but says he’s shared it with the Cannabis Commission.
“I wouldn’t bring criminals into a community that I love,” he said.
And Brain Porter says neither development is exceptional by Six Nations standards — where no zoning regulations exist.
Community members build what they want on their own lands, he says.
“I’ve got lots of friends that had great views of natural areas and then someone purchased the property and converted it into something else and they didn’t have a say over it,” he said.
Porter notes that just to the northeast of the property, along Chiefswood Road, one of the main arteries through the community, is the Ohsweken Speedway. It’s owned by a Six Nations member who built it on family lands. The racetrack roars to life every Friday night from May to September.
Just down from the Speedway sits the sprawling cigarette factory and warehouse buildings of Grand River Enterprises, which ships tobacco products around the globe.
“There are factories going up weekly, right in the interior of all these lots,” he said.
“There’s no process for building permits. So there’s lots of construction happening here. The vast majority, none of the members know about it.”
Health Canada and Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General say they have no agreements with Six Nations allowing it to license marijuana producers or retailers. The issuing of cannabis licences by First Nations communities — outside of federal and provincial frameworks — has not been tested in court.
