First Nations demand progress on fishery
Delegation seeks settlement, end to litigation going on since 2009
A B.C. First Nations del-OTTAWA egation was hoping for a breakthrough here Tuesday as it took part in its highest-level meeting with federal officials since a 2009 court ruling recognized its right to a commercial fishery.
Members of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, representing First Nations along the west coast of Vancouver Island, had an evening meeting with the Trudeau government’s top three officials on the First Nations file — Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett, and Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
The meeting took place amid conflicting pressure son the Trudeau government, which promised to negotiate rather than litigate with aboriginal groups on a nation-to-nation basis.
“I hope today marks a big step toward building a framework that lays out how these (fishery) rights will be applied within the current regulations,” said the NDP’s Gord Johns.
The MP for Courtenay-Alberni has been badgering the government this spring, noting that Wilson-Raybould, when she was B.C. regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations, criticized the Conservatives for foot-dragging on the case.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Nicole Garson concluded in 2009 that the Nuu-chah-nulth people proved their claim that they had a right to a modern commercial fishery. That claim was based on a history of commercial exploitation of the resource that preceded contact with white explorers and colonists.
But Garson didn’t rule on the extent of the federal government’s ability to “infringe” on that right in order to manage a complex West Coast fishery.
Instead, she gave the Nuu-chahnulth and Ottawa two years to negotiate an accord.
A settlement was never reached as the former Harper government, supported by the B.C. government and industry groups, argued unsuccessfully all the way to the Supreme Court against the 2009 decision.
Grand Chief Edward John, an executive member of the B.C. First Nations Summit, said the Trudeau government needs to send a signal that it is prepared to negotiate rather than litigate.
But an industry spokeswoman expressed concern recently about the possibility of a political settlement in advance of the next stage of the court battle.
The Nuu-chah-nulth launched a new court action against the federal government due to Ottawa’s failure to strike a suitable agreement.
“The public interest demands that this case continue,” said B.C. Seafood Alliance executive director Christina Burridge.
The alliance, representing various corporate interests including the Jim Pattison Group, wants the B.C. Supreme Court to consider its argument that the federal department must continue managing the West Coast fishery for the benefit of all groups, including commercial and sport fisheries.
It also wants the court to determine that certain species — like sablefish and shrimp — weren’t part of the historic Nuu-chah-nulth fisheries and therefore shouldn’t be allocated to them in a future regime.
And it is concerned that the federal government, if it gives the Nuu-chah-nulth extensive management authority over commercial fisheries in its traditional fishing grounds, could set a precedent for the 200-odd large and tiny First Nations in the province.
“This is about how we manage fisheries in the modern world, how we conserve the resource, how we meet the needs of the modern-day marketplace, how we demonstrate sustainability to the wider world,” Burridge said.
“And we’re certainly not convinced that a series of balkanized fisheries can do that.”
The tribal council represents five First Nations along Vancouver Island’s west coast — the Ehattesaht, the Mowachaht/Muchalaht, the Hesquiaht, the Ahousaht, and the Tla-o-qui-aht.
The chiefs meeting with the ministers weren’t available for comment Tuesday.