Tag Archives: Mi’kmaw lawyer Michael McDonald

Moderate livelihood treaty right at centre of fishery trial in Nova Scotia

A trial involving three Mi’kmaw fishermen who say they were exercising their treaty right to fish for a living when they were charged with fishery offences is currently underway in Digby, N.S. James Nevin, 38, Logan Pierro-Howe, 24, and Leon Knockwood, 27, from the Sipekne’katik First Nation are each charged with four counts of violating the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licenses Regulations and the Atlantic Fishery Regulations under the Fisheries Act. They’re accused of fishing and catching lobster without authorization as well as possessing lobster traps that either had unauthorized tags or no tags on them. >click to read< 08:10

Mi’kmaw lobster fisherman in Nova Scotia says he plans to fight several fishery charges

Ashton Bernard, 30, says he was exercising his treaty right to fish for a moderate livelihood when officers with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans seized approximately 3,200 pounds of his lobster at the wharf in Pickney’s Point near Yarmouth, N.S. in Sept. 2019. “They took all of our lobsters. I don’t even know what they did with it,” Bernard explained. Bernard and his younger brother, Arden, were charged. Two other fishermen, Zachary Nicholas and Rayen Francis from Pictou Landing First Nation, were also charged. >click to read< 10:02