Question Period Note: Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans Report on the implementation of the right to fish in pursuit of a moderate livelihood

Will the government fully implement moderate livelihood fishing for Indigenous communities, as detailed in the Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans report?

• We welcome the report and are reviewing its findings.
• We are committed to advancing reconciliation and renewing the relationship with Indigenous peoples, based on recognition of rights, respect, and cooperation.
• We will continue to work with Treaty Nations to further implement their right to fish in pursuit of a moderate livelihood.

• The Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans report examines the federal government’s response to the 1999 Marshall decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada and the implementation of the rights of 34 Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqey First Nations in the Maritime Provinces and the Gaspé region of Quebec and the Peskotomuhkati Nation at Skutik (“Treaty Nations”) to fish in pursuit of a moderate livelihood. It examines past policy responses and agreements, concluding that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has not fully implemented rights-based fisheries for these First Nations.
• The report presents ten recommendations for DFO, Crown-Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
• General themes of the recommendations included: recognition of rights and nation-to-nation negotiation processes; taking a conservation-focused and collaborative approach to fisheries management and enforcement; integrating science and Indigenous knowledge into decision making; and, ensuring ongoing dialogue and education.
• The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs published a response to the Senate Committee’s Report. Chief Gerald Toney, the Assembly’s co-lead on its fisheries portfolio, states in this response that “the Mi’kmaq need to be able to co-govern and co-manage these fisheries, as true Nation-to-Nation partners”. The Assembly states that the Report accurately captures concerns, and expresses a hope that it be used “as the foundation for all future discussions.”
• In January of 2022, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans issued its report on the issue entitled Implementation of the Mi’kmaw and Maliseet Treaty right to Fish in Pursuit of a Moderate Livelihood. The report, which contained 40 recommendations, contained the same general themes as the Report from the Senate. The Government issued its response to the House Committee report in June of 2022.

• Discussions will continue to be guided by three key principles: further implementation of Treaty rights, the conservation and sustainability of fish stocks, and transparent and stable management of the fishery.