Photo: CBC News/FIS

Canadian First Nations leaders call for clear path forward on rights-based fisheries

CANADA
Friday, September 20, 2024, 00:10 (GMT + 9)

25 Years After Marshall Decision, Calls Intensify for Full Implementation of Treaty Rights

Twenty-five years after the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the rights of Maritime First Nations to fish and sell their catch, Indigenous leaders are urging a unified approach to fully implement these treaty rights, reports CBC News.

Kerry Prosper, a Mi'kmaw elder and former chief of the Paqtnkek First Nation in Nova Scotia, emphasizes the need for Mi'kmaq communities to unite under their traditional councils. He believes this cohesion is critical for strengthening relations with each other, as well as with the fish and waters they depend on.

“We’ve been separated due to constant resistance from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and commercial fishermen. Now, we're left to individually navigate this complex situation,” said Prosper to CBC News

The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in September 1999 stemmed from the case of Donald Marshall Jr., a Mi'kmaw man from Membertou First Nation. Marshall was convicted for catching and selling eels without a license in Pomquet Harbour, Nova Scotia. He argued that the Peace and Friendship Treaties of 1760-1761 granted him the right to fish and sell, and the court sided with him, affirming the rights of the Mi'kmaq, Wolastoqiyik, and Peskotomuhkati peoples to earn a "moderate livelihood" through fishing, hunting, and gathering.

However, the court also clarified that these rights could be regulated to address conservation or broader public concerns, a limitation that has since sparked numerous conflicts over the definition and enforcement of these rights.

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Reflecting on the continued struggle for recognition, Prosper noted the similarities to the 1990 Sparrow Decision, which acknowledged Indigenous fishing rights specifically for food, social, and ceremonial purposes. Following that decision, the Aboriginal Fishing Strategy was created in 1992, aiming to establish a food, social, and ceremonial fishery overseen by the DFO.

Despite these rulings, Prosper expressed frustration with the ongoing tension between Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishers, particularly over the perceived threat of rights-based fisheries to commercial interests.

“Donald Marshall was simply standing up for his treaty rights. He wanted to make a living, and exercise the agreement that granted him the right to fish,” Prosper tells CBC News

Continued Struggles for Implementation

Despite the clarity of these legal victories, rights-based fisheries across Wabanaki territory remain fragmented due to the lack of a clear, consistent framework. This has led to tensions, notably in Esgenoopetitj (Burnt Church) in 2000 and more recently in Sipekne'katik, Nova Scotia.

On the 25th anniversary of the Marshall decision, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak renewed calls for all levels of government to uphold the court’s rulings on treaty rights. She emphasized the need for full integration of these rights into fisheries management to address ongoing economic disparities and conflicts.

"These rights must not only be respected but also fully incorporated into fisheries governance and economic opportunities for First Nations," Woodhouse Nepinak stated to CBC News.

In response, a spokesperson for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead, highlighting the need for sustained partnership with Indigenous communities. "There is hard work ahead to ensure treaty rights are upheld, while maintaining sustainable, well-managed fisheries," the statement read, emphasizing shared goals of conservation and responsible harvesting.

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