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?
Glenn Sollitt’s response: The Green Party has comprehensive policy to respect the rights of Aboriginal peoples. It goes far beyond fishing and includes speedily moving to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The policy specifically refers to the inherent rights of Aboriginal people to be consulted and to have their rights respected and accommodated.
The Green Party of Canada will ensure that governments and corporations alike respect the 1990 Supreme Court of Canada Sparrow decision upholding Aboriginal rights such as fishing and the right of Aboriginal peoples to be consulted about decisions and accommodated in those decisions that impact their resources and their future. The June 2014 Supreme Court decision in the Tsilhqot’in case sets a blazing path for recognition of Aboriginal title. The intergenerational and communal nature of title must be respected.
Specifically the Green Party will;
• Ensure that governments and corporations respect the Sparrow decision (recognizing the Aboriginal right to fish), the Haida decision (the right of Aboriginal peoples to be not just consulted but their concerns accommodated regarding decisions that may impact their resources and their future), and the Tsilhqot’in decision;
• Negotiate and legislate primary hunting, fishing, trapping, and logging rights for Aboriginal peoples on traditional lands, especially lands under federal jurisdiction, subject to standards of sustainable harvesting;
• Respect the Douglas Treaties of southern Vancouver Island; These policies protect the rights of Aboriginal people and will ensure that The Green Party will not ignore the advice of the Nuu-chah-nulth in respect to conserving precious resources.
Specific to traditional WCVI herring fishery, I feel it is crucial to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge into DFO management. I fished herring in the 1970s when the size of the fish and runs were huge. We no longer enjoy such a resource; the herring stocks need to rebound. Only through conservation and better management will that occur.
As the MP for Courtenay-Alberni, and the GPC Shadow Cabinet Critic for Fisheries and Oceans, I would work directly with First Nations to ensure their advice is integral to the reestablishment of herring runs.
Traditional First Nation needs and stock health are paramount to the needs of the commercial fishery. The GPC is the only party that does not “whip” MPs, so I can pledge to work in the interests of First Nations without threat of pressure otherwise.
More information can be found by visiting my website glennsollittgpc.ca and reading Vision Green policy 4.10.5.
