Latest news with #treatyrights
CBC
04-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
First Nation seeks court ruling on Alberta ending coal mining moratorium
An Alberta First Nation is asking a judge to review the provincial government's decision earlier this year to end its moratorium on coal mining. In an application for judicial review filed this week, Siksika Nation says Alberta failed in its duty to consult when in January it lifted its moratorium on new coal mining projects on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Siksika Nation, 95 kilometres east of Calgary, says the effects of coal mining in the Rockies threaten treaty rights and the land that supports its livelihood. It's the second time Siksika Nation has challenged a United Conservative Party government's coal mining decisions. When Alberta lifted its long-standing coal policy in 2020, Siksika challenged the move in court, but proceedings were discontinued the following year when public outrage spurred the province to reinstate the policy. That policy flip-flop prompted coal companies to sue Alberta for a combined $16 billion, arguing that the reinstatement and effective moratorium amounted to expropriation of land. The province recently reached settlements with two companies involved in the lawsuit for undisclosed amounts.
CBC
17-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
First Nation sues Manitoba Hydro, governments over 'devastating' effects of Lake Winnipeg regulation
Social Sharing A First Nation on the shore of Lake Winnipeg has filed a lawsuit seeking damages from Manitoba Hydro, as well as the provincial and federal governments, over a decades-old hydroelectric project it alleges has had negative effects on the lake, nearby reserve lands and the community's way of life. Berens River First Nation, roughly 275 kilometres north of Winnipeg, filed the document in Manitoba's Court of King's Bench Tuesday over Hydro's Lake Winnipeg regulation project, which began operation in 1976. "Our treaty rights have been infringed upon. Our people can no longer fish where their ancestors fished. Our medicines no longer grow where grandmothers once harvested," Chief Hartley Everett said at a news conference in Winnipeg. The community, which entered into Treaty 5 with the Crown in 1875, said in its statement of claim it also wants an environmental assessment of the project and inclusion in future decisions affecting Lake Winnipeg, describing the impacts of the project as "devastating" for the community. "This is not only a legal matter. It is moral and it's a spiritual one — the land is our life, the water is our spirit. We are not here as victims — we are here as protesters, as leaders and as treaty partners demanding justice," Everett said. None of the allegations in the statement of claim have been proven in court. Manitoba Hydro and the provincial NDP government wouldn't comment on a matter before the courts, and CBC News did not hear back Tuesday from the federal Liberal government. The project, which lets the Crown hydroelectric corporation manipulate water levels on Lake Winnipeg to generate power, includes the Jenpeg generating station and a series of diversion channels that increase the outflow capacity from Lake Winnipeg into the Nelson River, according to Hydro. The statement of claim says it has caused problems for the First Nation including poor water quality, flooding and loss of traditional areas. It's also caused problems for fishers in the area, as fish leave the shore, and boats and equipment get damaged by rocks and sandbars uncovered when water levels drop to an unnaturally low level, the claim alleges. Berens River resident Harrison McKay said he's seen that first-hand, noting it's become hard to make a living fishing in the area — and saying the walleye quotas he has have become "useless." "Nets are not cheap. Motors are not cheap. It's like buying a vehicle," said McKay, who added he's been a fisherman for about 40 years but hasn't fished much for close to the last decade. "The fish that you're supposed to catch on the channel, where … my dad and them used to fish are no longer there." Greg McIvor, who works with Berens River's chief and council, called the community "very fish-oriented people" whose land "was traditionally a hub for the whole east side, going into northwest Ontario and northern Manitoba." "They maintained this strong connection to the lands and the waters and the rivers — and all of that has been impacted and affected by various reservoirs and control structures," he said. The statement of claim alleges lake levels manipulated to be higher than normal have also caused flooding on reserve lands, covering roads with water, causing mould in housing and leading to at least one home being condemned because of erosion. Animals like beavers and muskrats have also "become increasingly scarce," as have plants such as wild rice, berries and ginger root, it says. Environmental assessment While Manitoba's Clean Environment Commission held hearings on the effects of the project in 2011 and issued a report in 2015, the statement of claim says that report was not technically an environmental assessment. Instead, it "relied on self-reported data from Manitoba Hydro" and "there was no comprehensive independent assessment or third-party technical studies or reports completed," the lawsuit claims. It also says while the First Nation participated in those hearings and consultation on the licence, it "did not receive adequate capacity support" and its participation "was therefore constrained, and [it] was not able to fully participate." The report also highlighted concerns including an "inability to properly assess the impacts of [the project] on shoreline erosion due to lack of data and studies," according to the lawsuit. As a result, the claim said the First Nation "rejects some of the conclusions of the report and remains concerned that the evidence relied on was that of the proponent, Manitoba Hydro." Bruce McIvor, legal counsel for the First Nation, said there were "a lot of shortcomings" in that report — and it's "far past the time for a proper, full environmental assessment." "Berens River is owed that, all First Nations around the lake are owed that, the people of Manitoba are owed that — and importantly, the lake itself is owed a proper environmental assessment." The statement of claim is seeking an order to have "appropriate and sufficient" monitoring technology installed and a comprehensive study done to assess the impacts of the project. The filing says it's also seeking injunctions stopping Hydro from operating the project in a way that it alleges negatively affects the community's lands and treaty rights, but what its future holds will "be the basis of the conversation between Manitoba and Berens River," the lawyer said.
CBC
10-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Lawsuit accuses province of failing to protect Saskatchewan River delta, violating treaty obligations
Social Sharing Cumberland House Cree Nation says the provincial government is not protecting the Saskatchewan River system, and now it's time to take the province to court. Lawyers for the First Nation in northeastern Saskatchewan filed a statement of claim Tuesday in Saskatoon Court of King's Bench, alleging the government has failed to uphold its treaty obligations. It names the government of Saskatchewan as the defendant. For generations, the people of Cumberland House Cree Nation have depended on the Saskatchewan River delta, the largest freshwater river delta in North America, stretching 9,700 square kilometres from northeast Saskatchewan into western Manitoba, the lawsuit says. But government-approved activities upstream — such as dams, irrigation and industrial and urban uses — have dramatically reduced the amount of water that reaches the delta, continually degrading the ecosystem, the lawsuit says. That has affected the ability of the people there to exercise their treaty rights to maintain their way of life, Cumberland House Cree Nation Chief Rene Chaboyer said at a Tuesday news conference in Saskatoon. "We feel that our hand is being forced to … move forward into the court of law to seek justice, and today's a very important day in the history of our community, our province, in our country." He and other community members spoke about how the delta has changed over their lifetimes: the water is no longer safe to drink, species of fish have disappeared, moose are migrating elsewhere, birds are changing their migration patterns and muskrats are hard to find, they said. "Back in the day, it was healthy.… Nowadays it's scary," Chaboyer said. Treaty rights Treaty 5 covers an area of about 260,000 square kilometres in parts of what are now Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It was signed in 1875, with the ancestors of Cumberland House signing on in 1876. The inhabitants agreed to share their land with the newcomers in exchange for promises, including that Cumberland House would be free to continue to hunt, fish, trap and harvest in the treaty territory, the lawsuit says. "The treaties are what allowed the newcomers to come and settle in Saskatchewan, and the treaties were only made because of that promise that Cumberland House Cree Nation could continue to maintain its way of life," Tim Dickson, the First Nation's lawyer, said at Tuesday's news conference. "That treaty promise is part of the foundation of Canada and of Canadian law. It's protected by the Canadian Constitution and it's enforceable in court." WATCH | Massive Saskatchewan irrigation plan threatens wildlife, opponents say: Massive Saskatchewan irrigation plan threatens wildlife, opponents say 10 months ago Duration 1:55 First Nations and environmental groups warn Saskatchewan's $4 billion farm irrigation plan threatens the diverse ecosystem of the Saskatchewan River Delta — North America's largest inland river delta. The Saskatchewan River delta is the First Nation's homeland and "essential" to their culture and identity, Dickson said. CBC News has reached out to the Saskatchewan government for its response to the lawsuit. Ongoing degradation Activities upstream — including hydroelectric dams, water diversion and withdrawal of water for irrigation, industrial uses and drinking water — have starved the delta of its vital sediment and polluted the water, Cumberland House is arguing in its lawsuit. The proposed construction of the $1.15-billion Lake Diefenbaker irrigation megaproject, which the government has committed to beginning this year, is also seen as "a very serious threat," Dickson said. Cumberland House has tried to engage with the province on the project, but "there has been very little engagement from the government," Dickson said. Instead, residents have watched as, year after year, the delta degrades. The loss of the delta would be felt not just by the people who live there, but by everyone, said Cumberland House Cree Nation Coun. Beverly Goulet. At the end of Tuesday's news conference, she responded to a question asked earlier by a journalist about how much compensation the community was seeking. "Instead of worrying about money, because we certainly can't take it with us when we pass … remember the children," Goulet said. "That's who we want to protect, because we've done enough damage to this planet. Like, what are they going to have? What have we done? "So, let's all think about that."
CTV News
09-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Mi'kmaq band drops legal case on N.S. lobster fishery
Fishing boats from the Sipekne'katik First Nation prepare for the start of its self-regulated treaty lobster fishery in Saulnierville, N.S. on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan HALIFAX — A Mi'kmaq band has dropped a legal case alleging Ottawa was violating its treaty rights in the lobster fishery, after hopes were raised of a historic deal. Last December, the lawyer for Sipekne'katik First Nation told Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice John Keith that discussions with Ottawa to settle the matter were 'moving to a conclusion.' Keith gave the parties until June 16 to finish the mediation, but said at that point the case would carry on before the courts. However, a letter to the courts sent June 6 by Sipekne'katik's lawyer Nathan Sutherland dropped the case without any further explanation. Neither side has provided an update on the status of negotiations for a new agreement. Chief Michelle Glasgow, the leader of the Indigenous community about 70 kilometres north of Halifax, didn't reply to a request for comment. Band members had argued their 'moderate livelihood' lobster harvest outside of the regular season is permitted by a 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision, while non-Indigenous commercial fishers have contended it threatens stocks and fails to recognize how the courts have maintained Ottawa's right to regulate. The original lawsuit was launched by the band in 2021, seeking a declaration that current federal regulations infringe on its treaty right to fish. The Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance, a group that represents commercial fishers, said in a news release Monday that the discontinuing of the case is a 'major victory' for its members. 'It is an acknowledgement by Chief (Michelle) Glasgow and Sipekne'katik First Nation that the rights to the illegal out-of-season lobster fishing ... are not a treaty protected right, it is poaching, plain and simple', said Colin Sproul, president of the group. Meanwhile, the group said they will be pursuing separate legal action, filed in August 2024, asking the provincial Supreme Court to determine the rules and limits to be applied to Sipekne'katik First Nation's fishery under the Marshall decision. The Supreme Court of Canada's 1999 Marshall decision said the Mi'kmaq, Maliseet and Passamaquoddy bands in Eastern Canada could hunt, fish and gather to earn a 'moderate livelihood,' though the court followed up with a clarification saying the treaty right was subject to federal regulation to ensure conservation. In September 2020, the Sipekne'katik First Nation issued five lobster licences to its members, saying they could trap and sell their catch outside the federally regulated season. In the months that followed there were confrontations on the water, rowdy protests and riots at two lobster pounds, one of which was razed by arson. According to a letter the band's lawyers sent to the court last December, seven federal officials -- including the regional director of the Fisheries Department -- attended weekly mediation talks in the legal case, with 10 representatives of the First Nation participating. 'The progress made to date and moving forward from our 25 years of impasse is immeasurable,' wrote Ronald Pink, the lawyer at the time, in the 2024 letter to the judge. The talks were also described by lawyers last December as being extensive, with former senator Dan Christmas and retired federal mediator Barney Dobbin guiding discussions. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2025.
CBC
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Sipekne'katik First Nation fishers say treaty elver fishery is 'a peaceful thing'
While the 2025 commercial elver season is underway in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Mi'kmaw fishers from Sipekne'katik First Nation in Nova Scotia are exercising their treaty rights through a protest fishery. In 2025, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) re-allocated 50 per cent of the harvesting quota for baby eels, or elvers, from commercial harvesters to First Nations in the two provinces but some First Nations communities are not participating under that regulatory framework. Sipekne'katik, Millbrook First Nation and Membertou First Nation are three Mi'kmaw communities in Nova Scotia operating under their own management plans instead of accepting DFO's plan. The protest fishery is a form of resistance, where Mi'kmaw fishers are harvesting under their own management plans rather than those imposed by the federal government, in an effort to affirm treaty rights. The elver fishery on the East Coast is booming due to its low-barrier entry and surging market prices in recent years. The "truckhouse clause" in the Peace and Friendship treaties of 1760 and 1761 affirmed the right of Mi'kmaq, Wolastoqiyik, and Peskotomuhkati to trade goods — including fish, furs and wildlife — at designated truckhouses. In 1999 the Supreme Court affirmed this right, and interpreted it in modern-day terms to say beneficiaries of these treaties have the right to sell these goods to earn a "moderate livelihood." Tabitha Morrison, a Mi'kmaw treaty fisher from Sipekne'katik First Nation, says when fishers from her community attempt to make a moderate livelihood fishing elvers, they are being harassed by DFO. "Threatening, intimidation, arriving in unmarked vehicles, not having business cards, not saying their badge number," said Morrison. "It's another form of institutionalizing our people and it is triggering as a nation." She said when DFO confiscates equipment it isn't being returned, which can make it difficult for fishers who see the fishery as a path to financial independence. "There are socio-economic gaps on reserve, so these are people on social assistance trying to do better and then they're being held back," she said. Harvesting in groups for safety There's been tensions between First Nations and non-Indigenous fishers over the perceived impact of a treaty rights-based fishery on commercial fishing, with notable conflicts arising in Esgenoopetitj in New Brunswick in 2000 and more recently in Sipekne'katik in 2020 over lobster. Amy Maloney, a Mi'kmaw treaty fisher who harvests alongside Morrison, said she sees stories in the media and hears other fishermen talk about her community and feels it is being painted as violent and disorderly. "It's a peaceful thing, it's not violent," said Maloney of the treaty fishery. "We want to do things without violence. We want to teach our kids that you don't have to be violent to exercise your rights. You can do this peacefully." She said the community is taking extra steps to stay safe this year by harvesting in groups and remaining vigilant. "We have to protect each other cause we don't have guns out there and stuff to protect us... and we shouldn't have that because fishing is a peaceful thing," she said. Morrison said fishers from her community head out beyond her community to harvest elvers because the Mi'kmaq traditionally moved based on the seasonal availability of food source. "We're gonna travel to fish, we're gonna travel to hunt," Morrison said. "That's what we have done for years." Morrison said her community's fishing plan is not unlimited, and their data is being tracked and managed by their community's fisheries management. They said they don't feel divided from other Mi'kmaw communities based on their choices to fish or not fish elvers, or to fish them under DFO's quotas. "The people that are here to treaty fish, let them treaty fish," Morrison added. Morrison said her community will continue to fight for their rights protected under the Constitution. "We're not all wrong and we're not all right. We're doing the best of what we know and I don't think the answer is pointing the finger and blaming," said Morrison. Fishery officers patrolling DFO regulates the commercial elver fishery with a maximum allowable catch of 9,960 kilograms. New regulations in March require anyone in possession of elvers — not only fishing them but storing, transporting, or exporting them, to be licensed. In a statement, DFO said "Fishery officers are patrolling rivers, inspecting holding facilities and export points, and working with our law enforcement partners, to enforce the Fisheries Act." "Fishery officers have a range of compliance measures that they can use depending on the particular situation. Any compliance measures taken will be based on numerous factors, including the severity of the offence, and the context in which it was committed." DFO added that if anyone believes "their interaction with a fishery officer was improper or if they believe that a fishery officer behaved in a less than professional manner, this should be reported to their local Conservation and Protection detachment."
