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VANCOUVER — Canada’s marijuana industry is expanding rapidly and some First Nations are looking to cash in on the emerging economic opportunities.

Phil Fontaine, an Indigenous politician turned marijuana executive, has spent the last year travelling the country and talking to First Nations about jobs, wealth and training opportunities the burgeoning marijuana business could bring.

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“Everywhere we’ve been, it’s been the same reaction, interest, excitement. First Nations are speaking about possibilities and potential. So it’s been very encouraging,” said the former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

Marijuana businesses represent “tremendous potential” for First Nations, partially because communities are able to get in on the ground floor, instead of fighting to catch up years later as has traditionally been the case, Fontaine said.

“This is a unique opportunity. This sector is different than any other the Indigenous community has experienced. Everyone is starting off at the same point,” he said in a telephone interview.