Tag Archives: treaty rights
Wolastoqey fishers say proposed elver fishery shutdown infringes on treaty rights
Some Wolastoqey fishers say closure of the fishery for baby eels, or elvers, this year will infringe on their treaty rights and impact their right to earn a moderate livelihood from fishing. Last week, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) issued letters to commercial licence holders that it will not renew licences ahead of the elver season that typically starts in late March. DFO shut down the elver fishery in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia last April because of conservation and safety concerns, after reports of violence and overfishing by unauthorized harvesters. Tyler Sabattis, a lobster and scallop fisherman, said he got into elver fishing last year to earn extra income for his family and community in Bilijk (Kingsclear First Nation), near Fredericton. more, >>click to read<< 09:34
Mi’kmaw fisher hopes his treaty rights will prevail at trial
Matt Cope has already told the court that he was harvesting lobster in August 2020 when he was charged. While the fisher from Millbrook First Nation admits to that – Cope, 36, says his treaty rights should protect him from a conviction. Cope appeared at the provincial court in Digby, Nova Scotia where the Crown proved he violated the fisheries act. Officials with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, also known as DFO, testified that on Aug. 28 and 29, 2020, they seized 90 lobster traps from the Bay of Fundy. Video, >click to read< 11:09
Removing DFO from Indigenous fishery negotiations an ‘integral’ step forward
Chief Mike Sack of the Sipekne’katik First Nation said the report, titled Peace on the Water, validates what he and his band have been saying about their right to fish since they launched a moderate livelihood fishery two years ago. The report calls for negotiations involving the Indigenous fishery to be handled by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, which Sack described as “the most integral” of the committee’s recommendations. “The treaty fishery model we presented over two years ago now is reinforced by each recommendation from the Senate,” Sack said in a statement. >click to read< 13:52
Mi’kmaw vow to keep fishing despite harassment from DFO officials
The crew of the Sadie C, a Sipekne’katik Mi’kmaw lobster boat was out on the bay exercising their treaty rights when it was surrounded by six zodiacs and one large coast guard vessel. The crew dropped ten traps, which the fisheries officers immediately seized. Marcel Marr, captain of the Sadie C, says he will keep fishing. “Someone’s got to stand here and fight the fight so it might as well be me if I want further generations or my children to participate in our aboriginal fisheries,” says Marr. >click to read< 19:54
Arrested by the Feds! Chief Mike Sack busted “for promoting an illegal fishery.”
The chief of Sipekne’katik First Nation has been arrested by federal fisheries officers on the day the band’s new treaty fishery launched in southwest Nova Scotia. Chief Mike Sack was arrested on Monday, taken to the Meteghan fisheries office and later released. DFO has not provided details of why Sack was arrested, or whether he could face charges under fisheries legislation. ‘Why would you arrest me? I haven’t done anything here,'” he said. “It just seems to be all scare tactics for the fisheries, to try to stop what we have going on.” >click to read< 15:59
Treaty rights are a provincial and federal election issue says Sipekne’katik First Nation Chief Mike Sack
The fishery offers the Mi’kmaw community in central Nova Scotia a path out of poverty, Sack said. But the strict restrictions on what Indigenous fishers can catch and sell further perpetuates the cycle of injustice,,, Indigenous fishers in Nova Scotia argue that a 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision affirms the Mi’kmaw treaty right to fish for a “moderate livelihood” when and where they want, including outside the federally regulated commercial fishing season. Some critics, however, are quick to point out a clarification later issued by the court saying the treaty rights would be subject to federal regulations. >click to read< 16:52
Tribal fishermen claim WDFW targeting tribal members in new age of Fish Wars
It’s been more than five years since two Tulalip Tribe members were taken into custody at a marina in Everett; but what led up to that moment is still a debate that’ll be settled in court. What’s clear is that regardless of how the court system plays out, neither side will ever see eye-to-eye. Hazen Shopbell, one of the tribal members, says it’s the new age of the Fish Wars, an era when tribal fishermen were beaten and battered for attempting to fulfill their treaty rights in Puget Sound. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says what played out is a standard investigation, that two fishermen violated state laws and trafficked in illegal shellfish trade. >click to read< 08:41
First Nation has right to catch lobster, but N.S. laws mean they can’t sell it. New court fight targets ‘economic racism’
A First Nation trying to establish its own self-governed lobster fishery is setting its sights on the Nova Scotia government. “We’ve always said that we’re going to hold everyone accountable for their actions,” Sipekne’katik Chief Mike Sack,,, “This is just finally coming to the forefront.” “We are more resolved than ever to bring this to court, as we have lost so much in the face of the violence and economic racism aimed at us from the commercial fishery throughout the fall,” >click to read< 08:10
How DFO implementation of Marshall dealt a blow to both Indigenous self-governance and community-based fishing
It’s been two months since Sipekne’katik First Nation launched its own self-regulated lobster fishery off the Saulnierville wharf in Southwest Nova Scotia 21 years after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in the Marshall decision, affirming the 1760-61 Treaty Rights of the Mi’kmaq to fish for a “moderate livelihood.” For their part, some non-Indigenous commercial fishers say they’re angry that conservation measures that have been adopted by the fishery, are not being followed by Indigenous fishers or enforced by DFO.,,, For the sake of the Mi’kmaq, the small inshore fishing communities, and the lobster stocks, let’s just hope that this time around the real Marshall decision finally gets implemented. >click here for this Big Read!< 12:42
Lobster dispute is the culmination of government inaction
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: “There remains no more important relationship to me and to Canada than the one with Indigenous peoples.”,,, Imagine the thrilling new drama, Lobster Trap, inspired by real events and probably starring Colm Feore as the determined but nice RCMP inspector, uncovering plots at the Digby Legion and facing down Lefty, the powerful Nova Scotia lobster mobster whose left hand is twice as big as his right. There is the wise and wily Mi’kmaq chief. There is Margaret, the love interest, who manages the day shift at Tim Hortons while rocking her hairnet. The intrigue builds to a dangerous but delicious lobster boil. By Monte Solberg, >click to read< 12:33
Lobster crisis. Is anyone at the helm?
Clearly, Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan doesn’t suffer from NIMBY syndrome (Not In My Backyard). How do we know? Because she’s allowed fisheries tensions to escalate,,, To be fair, the issue has simmered for decades. A 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision reaffirmed the treaty rights of Nova Scotia’s Mi’kmaw communities to a moderate livelihood fishery. Tempers have flared occasionally over the years, and none of Jordan’s predecessors had the courage to create an industry where the moderate livelihood fishery happened without opposition from commercial fishers. The minister needs to show leadership before someone gets seriously hurt, or worse. >click to read< 12:19
Sipekne’katik harvesters sell lobster on Digby wharf to show solidarity for treaty rights
Harvesters with the Sipekne’katik First Nation in Nova Scotia dropped lobster traps in waters in the Annapolis Basin and sold their catch on the wharf in Digby Thursday to make a point they have a treaty right to earn a moderate livelihood from catching and selling lobster.,, “We’re here to exercise our rights and to support our local fisher people from our community,” Chief Michael Sack said. “There’s been a lot of dangerous activities going on and harassment (of) our people so we’re just showing support. >click to read< 11:25
