| Indigenous chiefs in N.B. say Fisheries Department officers ignoring fishing rights | |
| By Kevin Bissett |
Source: ctvnews |
9/2/2021 |
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Indigenous chiefs in New Brunswick say the federal Fisheries Department is preventing members of the St. Mary's First Nation from feeding their families, after officers last week seized a lobster fishing boat operating in the Bay of Fundy.
Canada is ignoring Indigenous rights to fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes and to a livelihood fishery, the six chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation said Wednesday in a news release.
"St. Mary's First Nation members are being prevented from feeding their families by DFO (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) enforcement, and at the same time DFO seems intent on escalating the situation," the chiefs wrote. "This is creating dangerous conditions for everyone on the water." |
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The chiefs said federal officers seized a 20-foot-long lobster fishing boat in the Bay of Fundy operated by members of St. Mary's First Nation in Fredericton.
"The chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick are calling on representatives of DFO to take immediate steps to ensure that the basic needs of First Nations members can be met in accordance with the Aboriginal rights of the Wolastoqiyik and the Peace and Friendship Treaties, which have been in place since before the Confederation of Canada," they wrote. |
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