The Mi’kmaq of Burnt Church Reserve in New Brunswick and the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans have come to terms over management and regulation of the Miramichi lobster fishery – at least for the next two years. A hereditary chief of the Mk’kmaq Grand Council, however, declared the agreement “a sellout.”
Representatives of both sides signed an agreement on Aug. 1 after long negotiations, ending three years of conflict generated in the aftermath of the “Marshall” decision by the Supreme Court in September 1999. That decision upheld a 1760 treaty that guaranteed the right of Native people to hunt and fish year-round round for a “moderate livelihood” without government licenses.
According to federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Robert Thibault, terms of the settlement include “enhanced commercial fishery access for the band, training for fishers, the upgrading of commercial vessels, co-operative science projects, the development of a co-operative management capacity, and the establishment of a conservation protocol. As well, funding for community development initiatives will be provided.”
Thibault added that “the agreement-in-principle also provides for the band to conduct a limited food, social and ceremonial lobster fishery in the fall. Harvests of 25,000 pounds of lobster for food and 5,000 pounds for ceremonial purposes would be authorized. The fishery will be regulated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and members of the Burnt Church First Nation to ensure adherence to conservation requirements and overall harvest levels.”
“This was extremely gratifying,” said Bob Allain, DFO Regional Director for Fisheries Management. “First of all, this will mean peace on the water, and it will also mean livelihoods for fishermen and their families. In fact it will affect all the families at Burnt Church.”
Burnt Church Chief Wilbur Dedam said, “This action is part of the healing process that we wish to undertake.
“Mr. Minister,” he told Thibault, “please come and visit my community whenever your time allows.”
Thibault said, “Not only will the band receive additional commercial fishery access and other benefits, but I believe reaching this consensus will be a positive development for the entire region. I am hopeful this agreement will mean peace on the water this fall in the Miramichi Bay.”
Not everyone at Burnt Church was happy about the signing.
Lloyd Augustine, a hereditary chief of the Mi’kmaq Grand Council said, “My people’s treaty right have been sold by the agents of the government. The sad thing about all this is that our people fight hard to affirm the rights that exist within the treaties that were made with our people and the crown only to see them being sold off by the agents of the Canadian state – a state that has no powers over unceded territories. The signing of the agreement is a sellout.”
The Maritime Fishermen’s Union, which has been critical of DFO’s handling of the Burnt Church conflict in the past, regards the settlement as “a positive step,” according to Union Executive Secretary Sandy Siegel. “We regard the agreement with guarded optimism,” he says. “We’ll be looking to see that both parties are able to carry out the agreement. We’ve promised our membership to keep a close eye to that end.”