Industry Tobacco, bottled water Founded 1993 | Type of business Private | |
 | ||
Key people Jerry Montour, CEOPeter Montour, senior marketing officer, Kenny Hill, Marketing (Germany) Products SagoSenecaMohawkWatah Springs | ||
Inter tabac 2011 interview mit bernard johnston grand river enterprises gmbh
Grand River Enterprises (GRE) sells tobacco products at its principal place of business located on the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve located in the Province of Ontario. It sells under the brand names Sago, Putters, DK's and Golden Leaf in Canada and Seneca in the United States.
The company is wholly native owned and is fully licensed by the federal government as a tobacco manufacturer. Tobacco on reserve is a new economy that has brought employment and opportunities resulting in healthy and sustainable communities. The spinoff effects of GRE has created over 1,000 jobs on first nations communities.
The company was sued in March 2013 by New York State, which alleged that it was selling untaxed cigarettes to retailers in New York. The suit alleges that the sales violated the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act and the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act, as well as state tax and health laws.
The Six Nations Council continues to advocate that the millions of dollars paid by GRE to the federal government should be directly reinvested into the community since more taxes are paid by GRE compared to the annual transfer payment provided by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.
GRE is facing a new battle due to counterfeiting of its products. The company has called on First Nations communities to put regulations in place that manufacturers can turn to when their tobacco products are counterfeited.