Great. Thank you.
My name is Gary Hutchins. I was a fishery officer and detachment supervisor with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans for almost 32 years. As a fishery officer, I took a sworn oath to enforce the Fisheries Act and regulations pursuant to the act.
My personal experiences are many. I have been involved in enforcement of all fish species on the east coast as well as the Fraser River salmon on the west coast of our great country in 1992, after the Sparrow decision ruling came down from the Supreme Court of Canada. I had the privilege of sitting with indigenous elders who were drying salmon on the banks of the river on endless wooden racks. They would tell stories about their rich, fascinating culture and spiritual beliefs, and I was fascinated.
However, the majority of my career was spent enforcing the many commercial fisheries as well as the indigenous fisheries on the east coast. I can tell you that commercial fishermen are a unique breed. They are the hardest-working, most driven, toughest, proudest and principled group of people I know, and further, they have earned every penny they have through hard work and determination. Yes, we butted heads, but they knew I had a job to do, and as one fisherman said to me, “Gary, I don't like you one little bit, but I respect you for what you are doing”, and then I charged him.
We can all agree that the terrible and tragic events that have transpired since September 17 are unacceptable, and I don't condone them. These actions are fear-based, and not racist. Let me ask you all this question: How would you react if you felt powerless and abandoned by the Minister of Fisheries and your elected government? At this point, you'd feel backed into a corner, believing that your livelihood could be threatened. Whether or not this is fact-based, the simple truth is that one person's perception could also be their reality. Perhaps the reason for this behaviour is that fishermen were already aware that there were approximately 3,000 indigenous lobster traps in St. Marys Bay. They witnessed the destruction of a resource they had paid huge money to be a part of, all under the guise of a food, social and ceremonial fishery.
In the summer of 2017, my detachment, Digby C&P, learned that a large quantity of lobster was discovered in a ditch alongside a secondary road. We initiated an investigation, through which we located thousands of pounds of discarded lobster in the woods near the town of Weymouth, Nova Scotia. This is also adjacent to an area where several indigenous vessels landed their daily catch. Through our investigation, we could not conclude on reasonable and probable grounds that the lobsters were dumped by lobster buyers, or possibly indigenous fishers. Lobster buyers would have discarded them because, shortly after taking possession of the lobsters, the lobsters would have died. Similarly, indigenous fishers would have discarded them from their holding traps. Nonetheless, this showed a blatant and total disrespect for a valuable resource that provides income for thousands of people.
Mr. Dadswell has already talked about the lobsters and their survival rates, so I'll just move on.
This commercial fishery that Sipekne'katic wants to establish will cause a massive destruction of lobster. We have witnessed this type of destruction associated with the FSC fishery for years. Fishery officers have conducted thousands of patrols and regular checks in St. Marys Bay, and through these efforts, we have seen juvenile lobster used as bait, many with eggs attached. Fishery officers have witnessed untold numbers of dead lobsters in traps as well. This is a major conservation issue.
Allow me to speak to the facts for a moment. There is no indigenous treaty right associated with harvesting lobster. The FSC fishery was established by policy by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to allow indigenous people to access the harvesting of lobster. Now we have a self-imposed attempt to create a commercial fishery by Chief Sack and others using licences and tags created by themselves. Access to the fishery is lawfully regulated in the following manner. A licence is created by the minister, tags are issued by the minister, and these tags are affixed to the traps in the manner for which they were designed.
I am perplexed as to why we are here discussing the creation of another indigenous commercial fishery when one already exists. Actually, there are two, if we include the FSC fishery. The federal government purchased and provided to all bands a variety of commercial licences, including licences for lobster fishing, as well as for vessels. The purpose of this undertaking was to provide a moderate livelihood for indigenous people, thereby fulfilling the obligations set down by the Supreme Court of Canada under the Marshall decision.
Perhaps a better question to ask is why are indigenous people not getting access to these licences to pursue a moderate livelihood? Perhaps the reason is that these licences have been leased back to white business owners, thereby taking opportunities away from the indigenous people. I have spoken with indigenous people who have expressed the desire to pursue a moderate livelihood from fishing, but have not been given the opportunities.
The Fisheries Act is the supreme law in Canada that governs our fishery resources, and no one—not the Minister of Fisheries nor the Prime Minister—can violate this law or any law. The fisheries minister should step down. Further, if anyone else had done that, they would have been charged by now. The Minister of Fisheries—