{"id":3808,"date":"2020-10-15T15:40:51","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T18:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/?p=3808"},"modified":"2020-10-15T15:40:51","modified_gmt":"2020-10-15T18:40:51","slug":"premier-tells-feds-to-get-feuding-fisheries-to-the-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/2020\/10\/15\/premier-tells-feds-to-get-feuding-fisheries-to-the-table\/","title":{"rendered":"Premier tells feds to get feuding fisheries to the table"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Nova

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil addresses reporters after cabinet meeting. Photo credit: Nova Scotia Government<\/p><\/div>\n

Premier Stephen McNeil is once again calling for all sides of the indigenous fishing dispute taking place on the province\u2019s South Shore to sit down and talk out their issues.<\/p>\n

McNeil made the statement at a press conference following Thursday\u2019s cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n

The premier said federal fisheries minister and MP for South-Shore St.Margarets Bernadette Jordan and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans need to take a lead to get all sides to the table.<\/p>\n

His statement comes after a night of violence saw hundreds of commercial fishers gathered in New Edinburgh set a van on fire and steal and destroy hundreds of pounds of lobster.<\/p>\n

Tensions between indigenous and non-indigenous fishers have erupted since the Sipekne’katik band asserted their rights to a moderate living and launched a fishery outside of the season designated by DFO.<\/p>\n

McNeil warned anyone attempting to take the law into their own hands risks enflaming an already volatile situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs only going to continue to deepen wounds, deepen the distrust and people need to understand this is a very difficult issue. There are people on all sides who believe they\u2019re right and what we need is the federal minister to sit down with both sides in the room,\u201d said McNeil.<\/p>\n

Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan issued a statement ahead of last nights events condemning the escalation of this dispute which read, \u201cI am appalled by the reported events in Digby County last night and I strongly condemn the actions of every individual who destroyed property, committed violence, or uttered threats. There is no place for this kind of violence or intimidation.<\/em><\/p>\n

I am particularly disturbed to hear reports of racist comments and actions made towards First Nations peoples. This is unacceptable and we all have a responsibility to call out and condemn this kind of behaviour and language.<\/em><\/p>\n

I am very relieved that no injuries have been reported. Right now, I am calling on everyone involved to take a step back, and bring calm and understanding to the situation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Our Government is seized with the issue, and we will continue to work with both First Nations and industry leadership to find a path forward. Our conversations to date have been positive, and we must ensure they continue that way.<\/em><\/p>\n

Progress cannot be made if individuals resort to violence.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also weighed in on the recent events.<\/p>\n

In a release, Trudeau said, \u201cThe acts of violence and intimidation committed in Digby County yesterday are unacceptable, and I join Minister Jordan in strongly condemning them. We cannot continue down this path. We must work together to advance reconciliation and implement First Nation treaty rights.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

The premier was asked how satisfied he is with the federal response.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m extremely disappointed quite frankly, that we are in a position where they\u2019re not sitting at the table to find what is a workable solution,\u201d said McNeil. \u201cThere are going to have to be difficult conversations. I think both sides know this.\u201d<\/p>\n

McNeil said the only influence the province has over the situation is the issuing of buying licenses. They\u2019re waiting for the national government to determine what is a moderate livelihood before they can adjust their policies around buying licenses accordingly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter how much I want to resolve this issue, I don\u2019t have any authority to do so,\u201d said McNeil. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s critical for the national government to be there. It\u2019s why, in my humble opinion, the chiefs need to focus on the national government and bring the national government to the table and deal with both sides. Not only the national government but the traditional fishery and the industry that\u2019s in this province.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reported by Ed Halverson\u00a0<\/strong>
\nE-mail:\u00a0edhalversonnews@gmail.com<\/a><\/strong>
\nTwitter: @edwardhalverson<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Premier Stephen McNeil is once again calling for all sides of the indigenous fishing dispute taking place on the province\u2019s South Shore to sit down and talk out their issues. McNeil made the statement at a press conference following Thursday\u2019s cabinet meeting. The premier said federal fisheries minister and MP for South-Shore St.Margarets Bernadette Jordan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,5],"tags":[66,70,72,69,68,42,67,71],"class_list":["post-3808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community-news","category-news-posts","tag-bernadette-jordan","tag-dispute","tag-first-nations","tag-fishery","tag-lobster","tag-premier-stephen-mcneil","tag-prime-minister-justin-trudeau","tag-sipeknekatik"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3808"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3808\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3810,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3808\/revisions\/3810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}