Tag Archives: $260-million initiative
Mi’kmaw chiefs reject DFO’s $260M funding offer for fisheries access
In a news release Friday, the assembly’s 13 chiefs said they were concerned the proposal was “a rebranding of previously rejected proposals” and a threat to treaty rights. “This proposal raises serious alarms,” Chief Wilbert Marshall said in the release. “DFO’s approach reminded us of earlier initiatives from the 2000s, which failed to respect and uphold our inherent rights. Our treaty right to fish is not a commercial fishery.”Chief Gerald Toney, Marshall’s co-lead of the assembly’s fisheries portfolio, said the offer from the federal government could impose constraints on treaty rights. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:35
Federal government pitches $260M plan to increase First Nation fishing access
A nearly $260-million initiative by the federal government aimed at expanding fisheries access to First Nation communities is being met with questions from Mi’kmaw and non-Indigenous representatives alike. The three-year project by Fisheries and Oceans Canada was included in last month’s fall economic statement under the heading of Indigenous reconciliation. The aim is to “further implement the right of 34 [Mi’kmaw] and Wolastoqey Nations and the Peskotomuhkati Nation at Skutik to fish in pursuit of a moderate livelihood under the 1760-61 Peace and Friendship Treaties, as upheld in the Marshall decisions,” according to a statement from DFO spokesperson Axel Rioux. “Funding can be used towards the purchase of access, vessels and gear, and to support development and testing of governance and management structures, as well as participation in discussions with DFO at fisheries negotiation tables, with the aim of reaching long-term collaborative management agreements.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:32
