More than 50 Indigenous fish harvesters in the Maritimes charged or on trial: Ottawa

Federal prosecutors are pressing ahead with charges against dozens of Indigenous fishers, some of whom are planning constitutional challenges.

Three years after a First Nation started a self-regulated lobster fishery that sparked protests and violence in Nova Scotia, federal prosecutors are pressing ahead with charges against dozens of Indigenous fishers, some of whom are planning constitutional challenges.

On Sept. 17, 2020, the Sipekne’katik First Nation issued five lobster licences to its members, saying they could trap and sell their catch outside the federally regulated season.

The bold move came exactly 21 years after the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the treaty right of Indigenous groups in Eastern Canada to hunt and fish for a moderate livelihood, but interpretations of that landmark ruling remain in dispute.

In the months that followed the start of Sipekne’katik’s “moderate livelihood fishery,” there were confrontations on the water, rowdy protests and riots at two lobster pounds, one of which was razed by a deliberately set fire. The fishing and the violent response have led to criminal charges and civil lawsuits.

By December 2022, federal conservation officers had seized more than 7,000 lobster traps as other Mi’kmaq bands started their own moderate livelihood enterprises. But until now, federal officials have said little about prosecutions related to the Indigenous lobster, crab and baby eel fisheries.

Last month, Mi’kmaw journalist Maureen Googoo combed through provincial court records to compile a list of 54 Mi’kmaq fish harvesters from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick who are now before the courts. Googoo’s online news site, Ku’ku’kwes News, reported that about half of those charged are planning to argue in court that they have a constitutionally protected treaty right to catch and sell fish when and where they want.

The federal Fisheries Department confirmed in a statement Friday that Googoo’s list of fishers facing charges was accurate.

“We recognize that fisheries … are of great social, cultural, spiritual and economic importance to many Indigenous peoples, and we remain committed to upholding Indigenous fishing rights, including the treaty right to fish for a moderate livelihood,” department spokesperson Lauren Sankey said.