B-HQ-01-09(148)

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Thank you all for coming today.

In the months that followed the Supreme Court of Canada's Marshall decision, First Nations and established commercial fishermen throughout the Atlantic region faced major uncertainty about their place in the fishery. There were some well-publicized tensions between people who were dealing with that uncertainty, and confronting the prospect of dramatic changes in an industry that they rely on for their livelihood. But for the most part, all parties showed goodwill, patience, and a willingness to work together for sustainable solutions.

Following the Supreme Court decision, my Department worked hard to provide for increased First Nation access to the commercial fishery. This was done through the negotiation of one-year fishing agreements. Increased access was achieved in a manner that accommodated the interests of non-Native commercial fishermen, while respecting my responsibility for conservation and an orderly fishery. But from the very beginning, the government has been clear that there would need to be a longer-term process to address an expanded role for Aboriginal communities in managing and profiting from natural resources, including the fishery.

Today, I am pleased to be able to tell you what that longer-term process will look like for the fishery. My colleague, Minister Nault, has told you about the work he is doing to address outstanding issues on Aboriginal and treaty rights. But I want to explain what my Department will do in a very practical way to make sure that First Nations in Atlantic Canada see an immediate and beneficial increase in their access to the commercial fishery.

When the Marshall decision was handed down, it was clear that we needed to make some changes in the fishery. But I think it was equally clear that change needed to be managed carefully, to ensure that progress was peaceful and sustainable. We addressed that challenge through negotiation. We talked with Mi'kmaq and Maliseet communities about their needs and aspirations in the fishery, and about their readiness to fish immediately. We negotiated agreements that responded to the unique circumstances faced by each band. And we consulted with non-Native commercial fishermen, to keep them informed of the changes that were coming to the fishing industry and fishing communities.

Today, I want to tell you that we are still committed to negotiation as the means of addressing our obligations under Marshall. But we will no longer be negotiating on a year-by-year basis. Instead, I am renewing the mandate of the Federal Fisheries Negotiator, who will now be authorized to negotiate fishing arrangements of anywhere from one to three years, according to the preferences of the communities. I am pleased that Mr. James MacKenzie has again agreed to serve in this capacity.

Mr. MacKenzie has a proven record of success in dealing with this important file, and I am pleased that he will again be representing the government in its fisheries negotiations. In the year following the Marshall decision, Mr. MacKenzie negotiated fishing arrangements with 30 of the 34 affected First Nations. The increased fishery access provided through those agreements has the potential to generate landed value of more than 20 million dollars per year. That translates into potential earnings of almost 14 million dollars per year. The agreements also brought about a 174 per cent increase in the number of commercial lobster enterprises fished by Aboriginal communities. They have resulted in tangible change for the better for First Nations in the Maritimes and Gaspé. Now, as we launch a multi-year approach to honour our treaty obligations to provide increased fishery access, Mr. MacKenzie's experience will be key in continuing to ensuring successful outcomes for all.

Multi-year agreements will give greater flexibility to Mi'kmaq and Maliseet communities in their negotiations and planning, while offering more planning stability to non-Native fishing communities in terms of the future of the fishery. We are making big changes in the fishery. And to make them successfully, we need a planned, phased approach to ensure a smooth transition. The three-year process we're embarking upon provides that planning stability. The agreements negotiated in this process will build on the successes of the initial one-year agreements, while offering a more stable framework in which to explore issues like an expanded Aboriginal role in management of their own fishing activities. And they will map out a blueprint for a focused period of change, allowing both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal fishing communities to plan their fishing strategies for the longer-term.

The focus of these community-level multi-year agreements will still be on practical, real-world measures to increase First Nations' access to the fishery. They will be without prejudice to the positions of First Nation communities in the broader DIAND-led process. Our goal and our commitment remain constant: we want to achieve successful Aboriginal participation in the commercial fishery. We don't want to just hand over licences to Aboriginal communities. We want to equip them for success. That is why Mr. MacKenzie will be negotiating agreements that will provide, not just fishery access, but also the training to develop skilled, professional Aboriginal fishers.

Most of Mr. MacKenzie's work will focus on developing fishing agreements with First Nations at the community level. But there are some fishery issues that cannot be resolved at the Band level.

Some of these are practical fishery issues concerning the role of First Nation groups in the co-management of the fishery, and will be part of Mr. MacKenzie's continued work. Still other fishery issues will need to be discussed in the context of longer-term Aboriginal and Treaty rights discussions led by Minister Nault and Tom Molloy, with assistance from Mr. MacKenzie.

Of course, changes in the fishery do not only affect Mi'kmaq and Maliseet communities. They also have impacts on non-Aboriginal fishing communities and their industries. To ensure that we are aware of and sensitive to the concerns of non-Native commercial fishers and other stakeholders, I have again appointed Mr. Gilles Thériault to serve as Associate Federal Fisheries Negotiator. He will work closely with Mr. MacKenzie, by focusing his efforts on ongoing consultation with industry and other interested groups, and facilitating communications between those groups and Aboriginal communities. Mr. Thériault and Mr. MacKenzie will both continue working to help build and facilitate productive and cooperative working relationships between Native and non-Native fishers. There is significant potential in this area. Mentoring, for example, could allow Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal fishers to work together, and share knowledge and techniques to their mutual benefit. Mi'kmaq and Maliseet communities also need to be engaged in advisory processes relating to the fisheries, offering their perspective on the issues and challenges facing all fishers today. I cannot emphasize enough the priority we place on this kind of dialogue and cooperation among communities.

As just one example of the ways we are working with the non-Native commercial fishing industry, let me tell you about how we have made room for more Aboriginal fishing. In the first phase of our Marshall response, we were reminded again and again that Atlantic fisheries were fully subscribed - they could not accommodate more fishers without jeopardizing both the resource, and the livelihoods of the people who relied on it. It was for that reason we introduced a program of voluntary licence retirements. So far, we have accommodated new Aboriginal entrants to the commercial fishery by retiring capacity from other fishers. We will be continuing this program. And I am optimistic that voluntary retirement will continue to provide us with the means to accommodate increased commercial fishing by Aboriginal communities.

Throughout our fishery negotiations, we need to keep our priorities in mind.

First, as I have said many times, our priority is conservation. We must preserve the fishery resource for future generations of fishers, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal.

Second, we intend to respect the Treaties that have been signed. We will address our obligations consistent with the Marshall decision.

Third, we will ensure that the fishery is regulated and managed effectively, to the benefit of all users.

I am a realist, and I know that change to the fishery alone will not resolve all the problems or answer all the aspirations of Aboriginal communities. But the success we have achieved over the past year demonstrates that the measures I'm announcing today are important elements of addressing those broader concerns. I am convinced that, as part of the federal government's integrated approach for resolving outstanding Aboriginal and treaty rights, these initiatives have the potential to make change for the better.

I am optimistic about the future of the fishery in Atlantic Canada, and about the future of relationships between the Canadian government and First Nations in the Atlantic region. And I am excited about this new phase in our response to Marshall, as a foundation for that future and those relationships.

For further information, please contact:

Heather Bala
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (613) 996-0076

For additional information on the Marshall decision:
See the DFO home page - (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca) - under
"Supreme Court of Canada decision in the Marshall Case."

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