The tensions between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous fishers in Southwest Nova are continuing to escalate, and Director General of Conservation and Protection for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Heather McCready is discussing their response.
McCready says DFO has faced allegations from both sides, harassment on one hand and lack of actions on the other.
She says they’ve heard from Indigenous communities that any enforcement can be perceived as harassment, and outlined DFO’s duties with all fisheries.
“When someone is involved in an unauthorized fishery we need to be monitoring that and taking enforcement action where appropriate. Where you have people engaging in a licensed fishery, we need to inspect that activity and make sure that it’s compliant with the licensing conditions,” says McCready. “That’s a normal part of enforcement. There’s nothing particularly special happening. It’s our normal business.”
She added that they’ve been taking actions on illegal activity and there are a number of investigations currently underway.
McCready also discussed the role social media has played in the dispute.
“People on Facebook and Twitter will sometimes comment about things, will make claims that aren’t necessarily true, it makes other people angry, they respond, and you end up having these little virtual fist fights,” says McCready. “That’s inflaming people further. What we’re worried about is seeing some of the violence that we saw last fall.”
She says there are more resources in Southwest Nova now for enforcement than there have been in four years but people taking matters into their own hands only draws resources away from the RCMP and DFO.
“It’s counter productive. If you want us to be doing more enforcement, what we need is for people to give us some space so we can do our job,” says McCready. “And to try to be calm about this issue even though I know that for so many people its so personal and it affects their way of life and their identity.”
McCready says negotiations between the Crown and Indigenous communities are the way to come to a peaceful resolution.
