Wolastoqey nation chiefs are standing in solidarity with the Sipekne’katik nation, after protests erupted in Nova Scotia last week.
The six chiefs say the Department of Fisheries and Oceans have not implemented fishing rights for Indigenous peoples laid out in several Treaties, and a prior Supreme Court of Canada decision.
In a press release, the Wolastoqey chiefs cite the Treaties of 1725, 1749, and 1760, as well as the 1996 Gladstone decision by the Supreme Court, which recognized the rights of Mi’gmaq fishers to “fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes.”
They blame the DFO for protests against Mi’gmaq fishers, which led to several arrests last week.
“(The DFO’s) failure to act with respect towards Indigenous people and its failure to respect Aboriginal and Treaty rights has left First Nations with little option but to proceed with their own fisheries,” the release reads. “It joins a long history of broken agreements and unjust dealings between governments and the Indigenous nations to prevent us from exercising our lawful rights.”
The Wolastoqey chiefs are asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to force the department to implement the Treaty fishing rights.
