Brace for a(nother) summer of discontent in Nova Scotia’s fishing industry

How do Ottawa and First Nations mutually agree on the best way to organize Atlantic Canada’s most lucrative fishery to serve the economic interests of Indigenous communities and those of traditional non-Indigenous commercial fishers without undermining the industry’s commercial viability or environmental sustainability? It won’t happen so long as Ottawa insists it alone knows best. […]

Accountability ain’t what it used to be

Perhaps it never was. But in these days of cascading crises, it’s hard not to notice just who’s missing in action, or acting without accountability, or playing games with their obligation to accountability. ac·count·abil·i·ty | \ ə-ˌkau̇n-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē \ Definition of accountability: the quality or state of being accountable, especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for […]

Troubled waters

There is no excuse — period, full stop — for the violence and vandalism currently taking place in southwest Nova Scotia. That said, the crisis there — and the tangled, troubled history behind it — is far more complex, nuanced and slippery that any simple hashtag-RACISM tweet can ever capture. There is no excuse — […]

The fishery of frustration

The real reason for the recent confrontations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishers is that Ottawa has failed abysmally for more than two decades to negotiate with First Nations to define what constitutes a moderate living. Mi’kmaw fishermen were frustrated. On Sept. 17, 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada had reaffirmed rights established in peace and […]