The Fisheries Stand-off in Atlantic Canada: Understanding the Complexity of this Issue (A Personal Perspective)
Lois Mitchell
[This paper was written last fall at the height of the dispute in Nova Scotia over the “moderate-living lobster fishery”, being conducted by the Sipekne'katik band (the second largest Mi’kmaq band in Nova Scotia). It was originally written as the tension was escalating because people in my own family and community – Deer Island, New Brunswick – had asked me to write about it and because the Indigenous Relations Working Group of the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada (CBAC), of which I have been a member for several years, was trying to help pastors and churches (especially in the area of Nova Scotia where the tension was most pronounced, but throughout Atlantic Canada more generally) understand the issue and how they might respond in a way that is in keeping with our commitment as a denomination to reconciliation. After the article was published on the CBAC website (https://baptist-atlantic.ca/news/the-fisheries-stand-off-in-atlantic-canada-understanding-the-complexity-of-this-issue/), I posted it on my own Facebook page. Some good conversations ensued and eventually the issue subsided, in that the confrontations stopped and a special mediator was appointed by the Federal Government to “facilitate discussions” – see https://globalnews.ca/news/7418671/ns-lobster-dispute-ottawa-mediator/.
The article is being posted here to exemplify an attempt to engage in difficult conversations on complex issues by seeking a “more complete truth”. It begins by acknowledging our biases, but is driven by an honest desire to understand other perspectives in the hopes of finding common ground and a way forward that is both peaceful and just for all parties. Since writing this in October, 2020, there have been some new developments as Indigenous bands and non-Indigenous fishers and their organizations attempt to work with and/or around the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. I may, at some point, write an update but for now, what follows is the original article with a few very small edits made for clarity.]
October 2, 2020
I am very heavy-hearted as I witness – from a distance - the stand-off in Saint Mary’s Bay between fishers of the Sipekne'katik band who have band-issued “moderate-living” lobster licenses, and traditional fishermen from the area (and beyond) who are frustrated with what they consider to be “illegal traps” that are being fished “out of season”. I don’t have all the answers and I’m just one flawed person, wanting to understand and act in a way that promotes right relationship in light of historic treaties.
CLICK HERE to download the full PDF of Lois Mitchell, "The Fisheries Stand-off in Atlantic Canada"
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