Minister touts deals with N.S. Indigenous communities as sign Ottawa’s plan working

'I think the approach we've taken, as demonstrated today, is working.'

Departing Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan says new fishing agreements with Mi’kmaq communities indicate her approach to the Indigenous lobster harvest is working, despite continuing tensions on the water.

The Nova Scotia minister – who remains in her post until a new cabinet is named – was defeated in the Sept. 20 election, with some political scientists saying the fishing disputes in St. Marys Bay cost her votes among Indigenous communities and commercial fishers.

But in an interview with The Canadian Press, Jordan said negotiations are gradually bearing fruit with First Nations fisheries.

“I think the approach we’ve taken, as demonstrated today, is working,” she said. “We have First Nations out on the water today fishing a moderate livelihood …. We have understandings in place. These are very positive signs of communities that want to work with the government of Canada.”

On Wednesday, the federal Fisheries Department announced it had negotiated lobster fishing arrangements with Bear River and Annapolis Valley First Nations, which authorize their fishers to set 70 traps per harvester off southern Nova Scotia and to legally sell their catch. The Acadia and Glooscap First Nations also participated in the discussions and may request to take part in fishing this season under the same agreement.

Ottawa says a total of 3,500 traps can be set under the agreement, with the communities to decide how they are allocated.

In early June, the Potlotek First Nation in Cape Breton reached a similar “interim understanding” – a term used to indicate the bands haven’t given up their inherent rights – authorizing a total of 700 lobster traps for the community’s fishers to conduct a moderate livelihood fishery.

The agreements are linked to a 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision that affirmed the treaty right of Indigenous harvesters to fish for a moderate livelihood, though the court later clarified that Ottawa could regulate the fishery for conservation and other limited purposes.