A nearly $260 million federal government initiative aimed at expanding fishing access to First Nations communities is being met with questions from both Mi’kmaw and non-Indigenous representatives.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s three-year project was included in last month’s fall economic statement under the heading of Indigenous reconciliation.
The objective is “to make more effective the right of the 34 [Mi’kmaw] and the Wolastoqey and Peskotomuhkati Nations in Skutik to fish for a moderate livelihood under the Treaties of Peace and Friendship of 1760-61, as confirmed in the Marshall decisions,” according to a statement from DFO spokesperson Axel Rioux.
“The funding can be used for the purchase of access, vessels and equipment, and to support the development and testing of governance and management structures, as well as participation in discussions with DFO at fisheries negotiation tables, with the aim of achieving long-term collaborative management agreements.”
The department did not make anyone available for an interview.
Mi’kmaw chiefs have questions
A spokesperson for Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn, a group that negotiates on behalf of Mi’kmaw chiefs, said in a statement that officials are still trying to determine what the federal program could mean for the Mi’kmaq and their right to fish under the treaty.
“While we appreciate that DFO has expressed support for our court-affirmed right to fish for a living, its proposed funding framework also raises a number of questions, which will need to be further discussed among the nation and with the DFO,” Crystal Dorey said in a statement
Dorey said those talks are scheduled for the next few days.
In a letter last week to commercial industry representatives, the regional director general of DFO’s Maritime Region said funding through the Atlantic Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative is to help First Nations gain additional access to commercial fisheries through “willing buyer/seller transactions on the open market.” “
“Our renewed support will continue to be guided by the department’s three key principles publicly announced in 2021: conservation and sustainability of fish stocks; implementation of treaty rights; and transparent and stable management of fisheries,” Doug Wentzell wrote.
More than a billion dollars spent
Since the Marshall decisions, which said First Nations have a conventional right to fish for a moderate living but that Ottawa can also impose limitations if there are justifiable conservation concerns, the federal government has spent more than $1 billion on an effort to increase First Nations. ‘ access to various fisheries.
The DFO statement noted that one difference in this case is that First Nations will use the funds to negotiate directly with vendors willing to purchase things like licences, boats and equipment.
In his letter to the industry, Wentzell said DFO remains committed to maintaining open communication and collaboration with the fishing industry to promote reconciliation and support transparency related to the implementation of Indigenous rights.
But a commercial industry representative said the department is doing it the wrong way.
“This is not about justice or reconciliation,” Colin Sproul, president of the Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance, said in a recent interview.
“The truth is that Atlantic Canada’s coastal communities have paid their share of the price of reconciliation that deserves to be borne by all Canadians equally.”
Sproul said Ottawa’s past efforts to buy access to fisheries for First Nations members have served to increase the price of licenses and equipment for anyone who wants to get into fishing. It’s also not guaranteed that all members actually have the ability to fish, he said, because some First Nations choose to lease those licenses to non-Indigenous fishermen.
This has led to ongoing concerns from commercial fishing representatives about illegal fishing that occurs outside of regulated seasons and is not associated with treaty fisheries.
Rights require continuous adjustments
Sproul said the problem could be resolved if the federal government put in place regulatory provisions stating that licenses transferred through this new program can only be taken up by treaty rights holders.
“This regulation can solve this problem for everyone,” he said.
In his statement, Rioux said DFO has no targets for the percentage of the overall fishery or individual fisheries that will be transferred to First Nations in Atlantic Canada.
He said the Supreme Court of Canada recognized in the Marshall decisions that what is required to implement the right to fish would vary over time from community to community, resource to resource and species to species.
“Therefore, the right to fish for a moderate livelihood is not frozen in time and requires ongoing implementation and adjustments over time,” he said.
