2020 Mi'kmaq lobster dispute

The Halifax Treaties were a collection of 11 written documents produced between 1760 and 1761, which, amongst other agreements provided Native Canadians the right to fish.

In 1999, the treaty was upheld by the Supreme Court in R v Marshall (No. 1) and again affirmed Indigenous fishers the right to fish in order to support a "moderate livelihood".[1] The semantics of the ruling have caused much of the dispute.[1]

In the second decision R v Marshall (No. 2) the Court elaborated the extension of Indigenous treaty rights stating that they are still subject to regulation when conservation is proven to be a concern or other public interests. Both decisions proved highly controversial. The first elicited anger from the non-Indigenous fishing community for giving seemingly complete immunity to Indigenous peoples to fish.[3] The second decision, which was claimed to be an "elaboration", was seen as a retreat from the first decision and angered Indigenous communities. The second decision was issued on a motion for re-hearing the case brought by fishermen's associations in which the court elaborated in particular about such things as the relationship between treaty rights and conservation that had been more implicit in the first decision.

Reaction to the 1999 ruling from Indigenous fishers resulted in fishing occurring outside of regular fishing season. Non-Indigenous fishers in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick reacted negatively to this and retaliated, resulting in the 1999–2002 Burnt Church Crisis.

On September 17, 2020, on the 21st anniversary of the ruling, the Sipekne'katik First Nation launched their own self-regulated fishery, beginning to fish before the start of the official season on November 30, causing concern from non-Indigenous fishers that overfishing could occur.[1]

On November 9, 2020, the Mi'kmaq First Nations, along with other indigenous bands and Premium Brands Holdings Corporation announced that they had acquired Clearwater Seafoods in a $1 Billion deal, although they intended to continue with the self-regulated fisheries.[4]

In late November, 2020, federal officials seized approximately 600[5] lobster traps from indigenous fishers.[5][6]

Robert Steneck, a professor of oceanography at University of Maine commented that the potential for overfishing by the Indigenous fishers in the off-season, based on the number of traps they have employed, would be minimal. He was quoted as saying "Really it would be trivial, in my view, by almost any standard".[16][2][17]

On October 20, 2020 Eric Louis Thibault, the owner of the lobster pound which was torched, pleaded guilty for failing to report income generated for lobster sales in New Edinburgh. Thibault did not acknowledge the source of the lobster.[18]

In November 2020, crown prosecutors sought fines against Guang Da International, who in August were found guilty of distributing lobster under "communal food, social and ceremonial" licences attributed to the Sipekne'katik First Nation.[19] The lobster were tracked by Fisheries Authorities via microchips in 2017, and found to be transported to Halifax Stanfield International Airport with intention to be sold to Chinese market.[19]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for the end of violence in the region[20] and that the RCMP should adequately protect both sides of the dispute.[21]

Restaurants and fish markets began to participate in a boycott of Nova Scotian lobster in solidarity with the First Nations.[22]