MCK Asks Community to Report Businesses that Refuse Band Cards

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) is calling on the community to report businesses in the region that refuse to honor the Band Card for point-of-sale tax exemption. Ratsénhaienhs Jeffrey Diabo met with Quebec representatives to address the issue, which sometimes even affects deliveries within Kahnawà:ke territory.

“It seems to have gotten worse now, from what I understand” Diabo said. “It just comes down to Quebec enforcing whatever agreement is in place with Kahnawà:ke. They’re not doing that, so [at] my meeting with the Quebec representatives before the holidays, I raised the issue and they committed to looking into it and taking action on their side”.

Diabo adds that the representatives requested that the MCK compile a list of businesses or organizations that refuse to honor the Band Card. As a result, the Council has established an email and phone number which community members can contact with their reports.

Reports can be sent by email to taxissues@mck.ca or to Tricia Collier by telephone at 450-638-0500. They must include the business name and location, the name of the manager, owner, or employee involved, the date and time of the interaction, and the reason provided for refusal. Incidents will then be compiled and submitted to Revenue Quebec on a weekly basis.

Diabo says that while the province holds the lion’s share of responsibility, Kahnawà:ke needs to hold up their end of the bargain. “The problem is two things,” Diabo said. “First of all, Quebec is not enforcing it, so their people are not being held to account. At the same time, we have to make sure Quebec is aware of the businesses that are refusing, and that may be where we’re kind of [in a] deficit on our side- in keeping them informed that this is a problem”.