CPTnet
August 22, 2000
URGENT ACTION: ESGENOOPETITJ (BURNT CHURCH, NEW BRUNSWICK)CALL FOR CANADIAN GOVERNMENT TO
END HARRASSMENT OF FIRST NATIONS FISHERS
Early Tuesday morning, around twenty Department of Fisheries and Oceans,
Coast Guard, and Royal Canadian
Mounted Police boats entered the Miramichi Bay in front of Esgenoopetitj
First Nation (Burnt Church, New Brunswick) and seized lobster traps and
attacked EFN fishers. The expected assault followed the break-down of
talks between the DFO and Esgenoopetitj First Nation. The flotilla of
vessels included several boats occupied by RCMP in full riot gear,
including helmets and assault rifles.
Members of Esgenoôpetitj went out in their own boats to confront DFO's
actions and protect their lobster traps. Present on the EFN boats were
four observers (members of Christian Peacemaker Teams and Aboriginal Rights
Coalition) who documented the activity with digital photographs and video
footage. The DFO/RCMP flotilla retreated after more than an hour of
confrontation between EFN and DFO boats, in which one DFO officer was
injured by a flying rock thrown by an EFN member. In another corner of the
bay where there were no observers, two EFN fishers were surrounded by DFO
boats. One DFO boat rammed and ran over them, knocking one of the
fishermen in the head and nearly sinking the small boat. DFO officials
arrested the two fishermen with unnecessary brutality on charges of illegal
fishing and resisting arrest. They were taken to Neguac where they were
handed over to the RCMP, charged, and later released.
Representatives of the DFO once again failed to negotiate in good faith
with the Esgenoopetitj community. On Friday, August 18, the two parties
agreed to a three-day respite, in which the native fishers would be allowed
to fish unmolested by the DFO within a designated boundary until talks
resumed Tuesday morning. However, once the fishing began in earnest, the
government began changing the rules by presenting a map showing the
boundary lines encompassing a much smaller area. The DFO also protested
the number of traps set by native fishers, although they admitted that
there was no limit given in the initial talks. The band's refusal to
capitulate to manipulation and game-playing by the DFO resulted in the
government's refusal to continue the talks.
The Canadian courts and constitution have recognized the seventeenth- and
eighteenth-century treaties signed between the Mi'kmaq nation and Britain
as valid. As such, the Canadian government is obligated to negotiate with
Esgenoopetitj First Nation on a nation-to-nation basis. The DFO's current
attempts to interfere with the First Nations efforts to make a livelihood
from the fishery is a blatant violation of those treaties. The Canadian
government also has violated international law by contravening the
stipulations of the 1969 Vienna Convention on International Treaties which
states that all nations must honour and fulfill any treaties they have
signed with international neighbours.
The call for urgent action:
Please notify DFO Minister Herb Daliwahl, the Canadian Prime Minister Jean
Chretien, and DFO officials that you are aware of the situation in
Esgenoopetitj. Call for an end to the aggressive behaviour of the DFO and
the disrespectful and manipulative methods currently in place by the
Canadian government to force native fishers out of the water. Remind them
that Canada is bound by international law and its own treaties to dialogue
in good faith with the people of EFN on a nation-to-nation basis. Demand
that fair and respectful talks be resumed until an agreement is reached
that is acceptable to both parties. Send a copy to your own MP so that
he/she is aware of your concern and interest in this situation.
Who to contact:
Mail letters, make telephone calls, send faxes, write email messages and
send them to:
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal (Federal Minister - DFO)
House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Phone (613)995-7052 or Fax (613)995-2962
email: dhalih@parl.gc.ca
Rt. Hon. Jean Chretien (Prime Minister)
House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Phone (613)992-4211 or Fax (613)941-6900
email: pm@pm.gc.ca
Raoul Breault (Area Chief - DFO)
Phone (506)394-8090 or (506)336-4946 or (506)395-7703
email: BreaultR@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Robert Allain (Area Director - DFO)
Phone (506)395-8639 or (506)395-3320 or (506)395-7710
email: AllainR@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Jim MacKenzie (Chief Federal Representative - DFO)
200 Kent St., Station 14E209
Ottawa, ON K1A 0E6
Phone (613)990-0163 or Fax (613)993-3435
email: mackenziej@dfo-mpo.gc.ca