Tag Archives: pursuit of a moderate livelihood
25 years after the Marshall Decision, some say more must be done to uphold treaty rights
On the 25th anniversary of the Marshall Decision, a landmark court ruling that affirmed First Nations’ treaty right to fish, hunt and gather in pursuit of a moderate livelihood, some say there’s still a long way to go to properly uphold it. The Supreme Court ruling involved Donald Marshall Jr., a Mi’kmaw man from Membertou, N.S., who was arrested and charged with selling eels without a licence outside the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) regulated season in August 1993. On Sept. 17, 1999, the court ruled that Marshall was justified in doing so in pursuit of a moderate livelihood, under the Peace and Friendship Treaties signed in the 1700s. What became known as the Marshall Decision affected about three dozen Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik First Nations in the Maritimes and the Gaspé region of Quebec. But the court did not clearly define “moderate livelihood,” even in a subsequent clarification. In the decades since, this has contributed to tensions between First Nations fishers, the commercial industry and DFO. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:09
