For the past two years, the Federal Fisheries Minister tried to open the commercial roe herring fisheries on the West Coast of Vancouver Island (WCVI) despite continued Nuu-chah-nulth concerns about low herring abundance. The actions of the Fisheries Minister led to a Federal Court injunction in 2014 and protest activities in 2015. What will you and your party do to respect Nuu-chah-nulth knowledge about herring, to avoid the confrontations of 2014 and 2015, and to ensure conservation and sustainability of WCVI herring?
Gord Johns’ response: Confrontation related to the WCVI herring fishery is just one indicator of a broken relationship between the Harper government and Aboriginal people.
The Harper Conservatives have consistently failed to engage seriously with First Nations regarding fish allocations or conservation measures, whether at the treaty negotiation table or through meaningful deliberation at ministerial or official levels.
Despite repeated warnings by Nuu-chah-nulth leaders, the Conservatives have mismanaged BC’s herring fishery into a state of crisis through a course of uncertainty and division.
New Democrats understand that the fishery is essential to both the coastal economy and the culture of the Nuu-chah-nulth and that the herring are essential to other species. New Democrats understand the interdependency of the people to the environment and of one species to another.
The DFO scientists seemed to have also understood, especially with respect to the herring fishery and the importance of keeping it closed, but the Minister chose to ignore both the Nuu-chah-nulth and her own experts.
Protecting the west coast fisheries has to be a priority for all of us, not just the Nuu-chah-nulth. This won’t be achieved with the haphazard approach of the Harper government. Tom Mulcair’s commitment to concrete actions leading to the implementation of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission must include a meaningful process through which the Nuu-chah-nulth have full standing in the planning and management of resource development within their territories. This can’t be just “lip service”, hollow consultations and endless discussion; action has to speak louder than words. The survival of the fisheries will depend on it.
It is important to recognize the role of your Member of Parliament in this process. Unlike Conservative MP’s Duncan and Lunney, I will stand up for our coastal communities in Ottawa. I will engage with Nuu-chah-nulth leadership, Elders and fishers and I will respect the rulings of the courts. My role will be to take local priorities to Ottawa rather than trying to sell Ottawa’s priorities locally. Moreover, I will stand up for the fish and the sustainability of the natural resources on which the Nuu-chah-nulth depend.
Tom Mulcair and New Democrats understand that reconciliation will not be achieved without respectful nation-to-nation relationships.
