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March 10, 2021 - No. 15
Hold Governments to Account for Violation of
Treaty Rights and Nation-Wrecking!
Uphold the Mi'kmaq Right to Their
Self-Regulated Fishery
- Philip Fernandez -
 
• Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw Chiefs Respond to Department of Fisheries and Oceans' Announcement
• The Mi'kmaq Right to a "Moderate Livelihood"
Announcement of Alberta Plant Closure
• Shameless U.S. Monopoly Runs Away Like a Deere
- Dougal MacDonald
Hold Governments to Account for Violation of
Treaty Rights and Nation-Wrecking!
Uphold the Mi'kmaq Right to Their
Self-Regulated Fishery
- Philip Fernandez -
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw Chiefs held a press conference
on March 4 to firmly reject the latest arbitrary declaration by the
Canadian government that the Crown and the Crown alone decides how,
where and when the Mik'maq are permitted to exercise their hereditary
fishing rights.
Canadian Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan, without so much as a word to the Mi'kmaq simply declared on March 3 that:
1) Mi'kmaq fisheries will operate only within seasons as established by the Government of Canada;
2) Canada will enable a "balanced" transfer of a number of existing
licences, as they become available on a "willing seller" basis to
enable the Mi'kmaq fishery to come into existence;
3) Canada alone determines what is a "sustainable" fishery; and
4) The fishery will be more heavily policed to enforce compliance at every level -- from catch, to processing and sales.
 The
Minister's statement came just one day after a meeting between the
Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) officials and Mi'kmaq
representatives where the latter asked yet again for the DFO to provide
data and statistics to justify why the Crown is insisting on limiting
their treaty rights to fish. There was no reply. The Minister did not
see fit to even inform the Mi'kmaq but did give advance notice to the
commercial fishers as well as to the monopoly media about these
highhanded plans.
Chief Gerald Toney, who holds the Fisheries portfolio for the
Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq, and Chief Sid Peters, Co-Chair of the
Assembly, both denounced the unilateral pronouncements of Canadian
Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan as "shocking" and "unacceptable."
Once again the Mi'kmaq called for the Crown to engage in
nation-to-nation discussions in good faith to find a political solution
which enables the Mi'kmaq to exercise their sovereign right to fish. Shocking and unacceptable it is indeed! This is the reality of the
"reconciliation" approach of the Trudeau government. This is no way to
engage in nation-to-nation relations.
Canadian Fisheries Minister Jordan repeated the claim that the Crown
is following the rule of law as if that makes what the government of
Canada is doing legitimate. She cites the Supreme Court Marshal II
ruling which says that "treaty rights are subject to regulation
provided such regulation is shown by the Crown to be justified on
conservation or other grounds of public importance." Her statement
merely proves that the Royal Prerogative can arbitrarily ignore Mi'kmaq
requests for the data and statistics the Crown may be relying upon to
override Mik'maq treaty rights. It confirms that it operates on the
premise that as the "conqueror of the Indigenous nations," it is "the
ruler" and the Indigenous nations live at its "grace and mercy." Grace
refers to "its courteous goodwill," meaning "it is not asked for nor
deserved, but is freely given." Mercy refers to "the compassion and
kindness shown to someone whom it is in one's power to punish or harm.
It is an act meant to relieve someone of their suffering." No amount of
fast talk from the Trudeau government telling Canadians how it is intent
on eliminating remnants of "systemic racism" will change the underlying
premises which inform the Constitution of Canada and subsequent
governments' interpretation of hereditary and treaty rights. This is why
it is crucial to support
the Mi'kmaq in their fight to defend what belongs to them by right.
 Professor Megan Bailey, Canada Research Chair in Integrated Ocean
and Coastal Governance at Dalhousie University, has worked with both
Mi'kmaq and other commercial fishers. Dr. Bailey challenged the Crown's
assertion that the Mi'kmaq self-regulated right to fish for a "moderate
livelihood" constitutes a threat to fish conservation. Last
September when the Sipekne'katik First Nation launched their own
self-regulated fishery, Dr. Bailey stated to the media, "I recognize
and I empathize with the commercial fishing sector that this seems like
a conservation risk. I don't think it is. I don't think the science
would support that."
For more than two years the 13 Mi'kmaq First Nations have been
working to put in place sustainability plans and principles that
respect the fishing stock and harvesting seasons they have followed for
millennia, in order to exercise their treaty right to fish today. They emphasized at the March 4 press conference that they will
implement
their plans.
It is not the Mi'kmaq who brought devastation to the Atlantic
fishery. That was the doing of the Canadian government which gave the
global fishing monopolies free rein to overfish. This government
under a different ministry is showing once again it is not fit to
manage the fisheries, and that it has no intention of fostering
nation-to-nation relations with the Indigenous peoples. It must be made
to stop criminalizing the Mi'kmaq and their right to enforce their
treaty rights and to implement their plans for a self-regulated fishery.
Hands Off Mi'kmaq Treaty Rights!
Uphold the Right of the Mi'kmaq People to Their Self-Regulated Fishery!
Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw Chiefs
Respond to Department of Fisheries and Oceans' Announcement
- Press Release -
 
While today, Minister Bernadette Jordan, Department of Fisheries
and Oceans Canada (DFO), has recognized our Moderate Livelihood
Fishery, she has also made unilateral decisions and asserted a position
with DFO having full control over our Rights-based fishery. This is
unacceptable.
The Moderate Livelihood Fishery is a constitutionally protected
Mi'kmaw Right and must be Mi'kmaw -- led. Twenty years after
Marshall was decided, DFO continues to take a colonial approach to this
matter, and it is time that Canada moves beyond this mindset.
Canada emphasizes a commitment to "Nation-to-Nation" discussions,
yet DFO continues to assert dominance over our Nation -- making
announcements and decisions, leaving no room for discussion or
consultation. This is negligent of promises of working
Nation-to-Nation, Rights affirmation, reconciliation and is in complete
disregard of our
governance and leadership.
DFO is continuing to impose rules without consultation with,
accommodation of, or agreement with, the Assembly. Marshall II said
that every limitation put on the exercise of our Right must be
justified and in consultation with the Mi'kmaq.
 Minister Jordan's announcement is premature to any discussions with
the Mi'kmaq, disregards the work and efforts of our communities, and is
disrespectful to any attempt at collaboration and reconciliation. "DFO
continues to dictate and impose their rules on a fishery that is
outside of their scope and mandate," said Chief Gerald Toney,
Assembly's Fisheries Lead. "The Right to a livelihood fishery is not -- and should not be -- industry or federal government
driven. It is something that needs to come from the Mi'kmaq of Nova
Scotia. Imposing restrictions independently, without input of the
Mi'kmaq, on our implementation of Rights is an approach that must stop."
Many Mi'kmaw communities have been working to develop Netukulimk
Livelihood Fisheries Plans -- based on the Mi'kmaw principle of
Netukulimk, taking only what you need and being respectful of the land,
animals and environment. Some Mi'kmaw communities have included fishing
dates outside of commercial seasons both for the
safety of their harvesters who are using much smaller vessels than what
is used in the commercial fishery, and our science has shown there is
no concern for impacts to the species during those times. DFO has not
yet provided us with justification for the imposition of the commercial
seasons to our Rights-based fishery.
"DFO must consult the Mi'kmaq, justify their decisions by sharing
their data with us if they want to have a discussion --
especially on seasons," continued Chief Toney. "Our communities will
continue to build their livelihood plans, with input from our Rights
and Environmental organizations, and there is no evidence that our
livelihood
fishing activity would have a negative impact on the species."
DFO continues to fail in their duty to consult with the Mi'kmaq and accommodate our concerns.
The Assembly is calling on Canada to act in good faith and to meet with us before publicly pushing their agenda any further.
The Mi'kmaq Right to a "Moderate Livelihood"
Over 250 years ago the Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1752
enshrined the Mi'kmaq people's right to hunt and fish their lands and
establish trade. In 1999, a landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling, R
v. Marshall, recognized that the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet people had the
right to hunt, fish and gather for a moderate livelihood.
Despite the Supreme Court ruling, governments have since that time
refused to establish through nation-to-nation discussion and
negotiation what constitutes a "moderate livelihood." Instead the
Mi'kmaq fishers are still prohibited by Nova Scotia law from selling
their catch, a right which the 1752 treaty affirmed.
Faced with government inaction, the Sipekne'katik First Nation
became the first to start its own self-regulated Moderate Livelihood
fishery, launched on the 21st anniversary of the Marshall decision,
September 17, 2020.
Announcement of Alberta Plant Closure
Shameless U.S. Monopoly Runs Away Like a Deere
- Dougal MacDonald -
 
Without warning, the U.S. agriculture and heavy machinery monopoly
John Deere announced on March 2 that its facility in Nisku, Alberta,
just south of Edmonton, will close down permanently on October 31. No
discussion was held with the workers, no arrangement suitable to the
workers is being put in place, and no alternatives are being considered.
The John Deere facility in Nisku was established in 1987. There are
180 full-time workers who work at the "remanufacturing" facility
refurbishing previously used worn or damaged parts into like-new
condition. The other three John Deere remanufacturing centres are in
Springfield, Missouri.
The company shamelessly admits that the sole reason for closing the
plant is to increase its profits, stating in an interview that the
purpose of the closing and the consolidation of operations in the U.S.
was to enable the company to "meet and sustain its required financial
performance goals in the long term." But John Deere is certainly not in
any financial trouble. They are closing their Nisku plant at a time of
strong growth. The global monopoly reported a net income of U.S.$1.224
billion for the first quarter of 2021, more than double their income
for the same quarter last year. In late February, John Deere increased its
quarterly dividend by 18 per cent.
The economy of the country has been integrated into the U.S. war
machine. In addition "Make America Great Again" pressure is being put by
both the Biden administration and the Government of Canada under the
slogan of a green economy and "Build Back Better." In Canada,
nation-wrecking is taking place at a rapid rate as no attempt is made to
change the direction of the economy to make it self-reliant and to use
the technical scientific revolution and Artificial Intelligence in ways
that solve the problems facing the people.
Discussions are already taking place across the country on how to
have a self-reliant economy that serves nation-building, where economic
problems are resolved in a manner which favours working people, not the rich.
Canadians are perfectly capable of having our own domestic industry to
produce tractors and other implements for the agricultural sector, as
well as the tools and machinery required in other sectors. On this
basis, Canada could even export such equipment to markets which are also
held captive by the rapacious policies of the monopolies and their
cartels and coalitions.
Governments in the service of the rich claim that free trade and
rights of private property are sacrosanct, and that Canada and Canadians
must be subordinate to them. This must not pass. Working people have
not built this country to have it destroyed by predatory monopolies. By
taking up the issue of their own empowerment, working people can achieve
an independent, self-reliant economy under their control. Measures can
be taken which are effective against such monopolies, such as putting
conditions on the sale of their products in Canada. Companies like John
Deere and others that throw the workers out on the street should be made
to provide for the future of the people affected.
(To access articles individually click on the black headline.)
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