P.E.I.’s Lennox Island First Nation to launch treaty lobster fishery without DFO deal – CBC
Apr 28, 2022
DFO says fisheries without its authorization may be subject to enforcement
The Lennox Island First Nation says it will be launching a treaty lobster fishery off P.E.I.’s North Shore next week with or without the federal government’s support.
The First Nation has a clear treaty right to harvest lobster for a moderate livelihood without the federal government’s approval — a right affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada in the 1999 Marshall ruling.
But in a rare clarification from Canada’s highest court that same year, it was determined the federal government could in fact still regulate the Mi’kmaw fishers if there were concerns about conservation, providing there was consultation with the First Nations groups and the government could justify its concerns.
