Debates of Oct. 19th, 2020

Lobster Fishery Dispute in Nova Scotia

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as I said in the beginning, I have not studied the clear complexities that exist in the Nova Scotia fishery, but hopefully tomorrow the minister is going to sit down and start working out some of these questions. Maybe having a Nova Scotian aboriginal authority is the way to go. It is probably something that should be explored in conjunction with protecting the rights of the traditional non-indigenous fishing families.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague made several interesting points in his speech, and I thank him for that.

Where we may not agree so much is on how the RCMP should intervene in the current context. In light of that, does he not agree that current tensions between the Mi'kmaq and the non-indigenous fishers will not ease until the government sits down at the table with all parties involved, both indigenous and non-indigenous fishers, and draws the line that should have been drawn immediately after the Marshall ruling? It does not matter which police service is sent there. I think that, as he said, the minister is the one who needs to go there.

I would like his thoughts on that.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the member is right, the minister needs to be the one on the ground, eliminating the conflict and animosity between these two groups, first and foremost.

My comments earlier regarding an aboriginal police force and the RCMP were speaking to a broader societal issue that we face in Canada about the lack of proper enforcement of our rules in many rural communities.

I would also add that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans sorely lacks adequate enforcement in many of the fisheries that exist across this country. One way we could improve some of the tension is to possibly have more boots on the ground. Maybe we need to have more indigenous people working for DFO, people who understand the language and culture of the indigenous fishermen and fisherwomen so that we do not have these disputes moving forward.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his speech and for pointing out how bizarre it is for four ministers to join me, after my letter and my party's letter called for this emergency debate, so they could condemn their own government for their failure to protect those fishers.

I have concerns around my colleague's speech, in that his party spent millions of dollars fighting to diminish and restrict indigenous rights, constitutionally protected rights, in the court. I want a commitment from the member that his party will stop the violence that is happening through the courts, will stop the attacks on the indigenous people through the courts, will allow indigenous people to exercise self-determination, and will support and respect the autonomy of first nations and their ability to self-determine and self-govern what is a moderate livelihood, in this case, and all that means.

I am looking for the member's commitment. That is what we are here for in an emergency debate, to come together to find a solution, to work together to protect those fishers, and to support them through self-determination and their right to exercise and implement their court-approved and treaty-approved rights.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would not speak to the broader treaty rights that my colleague from Vancouver Island raised today. That is a question the minister should be responding to.

I will speak to first nations autonomy this evening. My first remarks I ever made in this House of Commons included that I wanted to do right by my first nations constituents. I want to see their autonomy improved. I want to see the Government of Canada get off reserves and give the first nations power over where their children go, get the provincial governments out of the way, and give first nations more autonomy to do the things they need to do to build their own wealth and their own social well-being moving forward.

That is my commitment to the first nations, to stand with them, to get the federal government out of the way so that they can truly prosper, and so that they are not bogged down by these unnecessary bureaucratic red-tape processes that govern every aspect of their life in ways that none of us in this House would find acceptable.

[Paul Manly, Green, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that it is not lost on the indigenous people in my riding or indigenous people across this country that there is a huge contrast in the way that the peaceful protesters in Wet'suwet'en were treated and how the RCMP stood back in this case and watched an angry mob burning vehicles, attacking and throwing stones. It is not lost on indigenous people across this country that, over 21 years, there has been inaction by Conservative and Liberal governments in dealing with the decision by the Supreme Court to ensure these rights are properly enshrined in the rules around fisheries and DFO.

I am sure it is not lost on indigenous people and people watching right now that there was a unanimous consent motion put forward by the member for Courtenay—Alberni, which was perfectly acceptable, that we should be affirming these treaty rights and taking action as a Parliament to make sure that we do right by indigenous people in this country and that we affirm these rights and take action—

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

It is time to move along. We still have to get one more question in.

The hon. member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is not lost on me what happened with the RCMP. That is why it is so unfortunate that the ministers responsible are not in Nova Scotia right now, trying to defuse the situation.

Regarding the broader issue of first nations' rights in the fishery and the Marshall decision, I think it would be good for everyone in this country, especially people working in that industry, to have the clarity to move forward. There are a lot of areas where first nations and non-first nations fishers agree that things can be done. Conservation is number one. That is an area where everyone can focus on improving our stocks, especially on the west coast, to ensure the sustainability of our fishery for future generations.

Yes, we need to have clarity and some action on the Marshall decision. That is not lost on me, but it is also not lost on me that the collective ministers responsible were not on the ground when they needed to be. We should not be having a debate in the House of Commons. They should be on the ground negotiating right now, seeking the solutions Canada needs.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon definitely came at it from a very interesting point of view, being a member from British Columbia and recognizing that he is not an expert on everything happening in Nova Scotia, but also recognizing a bit of a duality and understanding that there are some commonalities with his riding in terms of the industry and the relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous constituents.

I would like the member to reflect a little more on the situation in his riding in terms of the importance of strong relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous constituents.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I had a really emotional experience a couple of months ago. I asked the Sts'ailes first nation to take me onto its land near the Harrison River to see where their people have fished since they began recording time. They have always fished there. One of the members of the band told me about an experience when he was shot with a BB gun by a non-indigenous fisher over their rights. Again, it speaks to this broader discontent and growing animosity in our society that needs to be addressed by DFO.

The first nations are the first ones to point out that DFO has some guy in Ottawa telling them where they should be doing their conservation work, that there is some DFO official in Ottawa telling them how many fish go up the run, but the officials do not understand the fish like they do and the officials need to get out of the way and let the first nations do some of the important work. When I talk to the recreational fishermen and the people who work in tourism, they say the same thing: DFO does not know what it is talking about, it does not know where the fish go and what are those scientists in Ottawa actually saying?

There was the Fraser Salmon Collaborative Management Agreement last year that was signed by some of the Sto:lo nations and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. When members of that committee signed that agreement, they thought they were going to be able to work with DFO. They have not even had a meeting yet. They are discontented and their anger only grows. We have to address these broader issues. This is not just a Nova Scotian issue; it is a Canadian issue.

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

I am sure this debate could well continue.

It being midnight, the motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly the House stands adjourned until later this day at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 12 a.m.)