And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 16 Oct 1999 13:39:55 EDT http://www.cbcnews.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/1999/10/16/fishfight991016 Fight over native fishing rights moves off shore WebPosted Sat Oct 16 13:07:16 1999 YARMOUTH, NOVA SCOTIA - Like a stormy tide, tension over aboriginal rights is rising on Canada's East Coast, as non-native fishers take to the water vowing to smash any native lobster traps they find. •INDEPTH: Fishing Fury About 75 boats set out Friday night from villages along southwestern Nova Scotia, and by Saturday dozens of other protesters had joined the fleet around Yarmouth. With RCMP and Coast Guard keeping a close eye on them, the fishers began dragging the ocean looking for lobster traps. There were unconfirmed reports that at least 18 traps were located and destroyed. But the fishers interviewed by CBC would not confirm the allegation because they say police have threatened to charge anyone caught destroying property. Many of the boats had returned to shore by Saturday afternoon, and it was unclear if they would go back out to sea. No aboriginal fishers were in the area when the protest began, but authorities were still concerned about a possible confrontation. The threat of violence comes just one day after the federal government appointed a negotiator to try to settle the dispute over native fishing rights. Nova Scotia lawyer James MacKenzie was the chief negotiator in land claims with the Inuit in Labrador. Ottawa's move falls far short of Opposition demands that the federal government ask the Supreme Court to suspend a recent decision that upholds the rights of some native bands to fish out of season. The Reform Party says, at the very least, the Liberals should extend year-round fishing rights to non-aboriginal people too. The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, says the dispute in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick goes beyond simple lobster fishing. Many other native leaders agree, arguing the court's ruling touches on a wide range of treaty rights, such as logging and hunting. Newfoundland's 4,000 Mi'kmaq see the decision as a precedent for an extension of their rights as status Indians. At a meeting this weekend, the Federation of Newfoundland Indians plans to discuss the ruling and what action members may take to press their demands. "I think it's incumbent upon both the levels of government to sit down to some serious discussions as to what they can offer the Mi'kmaq people to more or less offset what has happened in the past," federation president Brendan Sheppard told CBC News. Sheppard said one example could be giving First Nations people a chance to get involved in hunting and fishing lodge businesses in the province. Copyright © 1999 CBC All Rights Reserved Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
