Tag Archives: Mi’kmaq lobster fishery

RCMP charge second man in relation to 2020 fish plant fire

RCMP in Nova Scotia have charged a second man with arson in relation to a fire that destroyed a fish plant in 2020 amid tensions over a Mi’kmaq lobster fishery in southwestern Nova Scotia.,, Investigators determined the fire was the result of arson. Police say they arrested Sean Roy Messenger, 29, of Shelburne County without incident on Wednesday. Messenger has been charged with arson. He was released on a promise to appear before a judge in Yarmouth Provincial Court. In July, 24-year-old Brendan Douglas James Porter, of East Pubnico, was also arrested and charged with arson,    >click to read< 17:08

Lorne Gunter: Here’s the real back-story to the Maritimes lobster dispute

A 1999 Supreme Court decision, the Marshall decision, affirmed a supposed ancient treaty right to hunt and fish out of season. The only limitation the court placed on this apparently pre-existing right was that First Nations could earn only a “moderate livelihood” with their out-of-season activities. The problem now, we are told over and over, is the failure of the federal government over the intervening 20 years to negotiate a fisheries management framework that defines, limits and regulates “moderate livelihood.”  Twenty-one years ago, I covered the Marshall case,,, The Marshall decision was an example of judicial bias and pre-conceived judgement. >click to read< 07:55

For Acadian fisherman, early Mi’kmaq fishery in N.S. bay can ‘never’ be respected

As he stands calmly splicing anchor rope, Roger LeBlanc describes the anxiety, anger and suspicion over a Mi’kmaq lobster fishery that is coursing through his small Acadian community. The threat perceived by LeBlanc, 61, is the launch of a lobster fishery by Sipekne’katik First Nation in September,,, In the weeks that followed, Indigenous traps were cut, a boat burned, vehicles were destroyed, and one lobster pound that handles Indigenous catch was damaged while another was burned down. The actions by groups of up to 200 people have drawn condemnation from across party lines in Parliament. >click to read< 13:40