Thank you for the invitation.
I will be speaking in French and I will try not to speak too quickly.
I am a professor of political science. Therefore, I might have a slightly different view of the crisis. I have been working with indigenous communities for a very long time, in particular on the issues of fisheries management, salmon management and agreements negotiated with governments.
The first thing that stood out for me with respect to the crisis we are discussing is access to resources. That is the central issue and it has a very specific context. Before the arrival of the Europeans, indigenous peoples were politically autonomous and self-reliant, as stated by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. It is important to keep that in mind.
This issue affects the Mi'Kmaq as well as other indigenous communities in Canada, although the files and the positions differ. In some cases, it is about access to the resource and the commercial fishery. The Algonquins in Quebec have asked for a moratorium on moose hunting to protect the species. At any rate, the issue is always access to and protection of the resource. It is important to point that out.
With respect to the Mi'Kmaq, we often hear that all they want to do is fish for salmon and make money. However, it is much more complicated than that. It has a great deal to do with self-governance. The Mi'kmaq from the Sipekne'katik community decided to create their own fishing season and to issue their own permits, which is clearly recognized by Canada's 1995 inherent right policy. This policy clearly states that self-government is an aboriginal right and that natural resources management is a right that they can negotiate as a priority or exclusively. One of the most important rights is access to the resource, and that is what is at stake in the case we are studying.
This type of situation is going to occur more and more often in Canada. One must have experienced the salmon fishing crisis on the Moisie River to know how to arrive at a solution. In the end, this type of crisis, where access to a resource and competition between sport fishers and commercial fishers are at issue, can be resolved through co-management. The co-management of natural resources allows for the recognition of a dual authority: that of the federal government over the commercial fisheries and that of the indigenous communities over the management of their resources.
This makes it possible to collaborate and to harmonize fishing practices, and also to alleviate the concerns of some fishers who are protesting against this fishery, which they consider to be illegal. It is actually not illegal because it stems from the aboriginal rights of indigenous peoples. In the case of the Mi'Kmaq, these rights were never extinguished, unlike what happened in the United States.
It is really in this context that we must understand the issue.
I know that the Supreme Court spoke of the concept of reasonable livelihood, which struck me somewhat. It seems restrictive for a community because indigenous peoples, like all other Canadians, have the right to access a resource and to make money.
We should also know that the indigenous fishery, even a commercial one, is a collective. The permits issued under the Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy and Beyond are community permits. This fishery therefore serves to make money for communities, not individuals.
I am very familiar with the Uashat experience of commercial fishing. It created some conflicts at the beginning, but now it is accepted. Innu fishers of the Uashat band council have their own fishing boats, crew and so forth.
Therefore, solutions can be found. On the one hand, self-governance must be recognized and, on the other, co-management institutions must be established to jointly make decisions and to harmonize practices in order to protect the resource.
As Ms. Metallic stated, according to the Sparrow decision, the only issue warranting government intervention is the resource conservation.
The way to resolve this is to work together on conservation. That is what I would recommend.
That concludes my remarks.