Sipekne’katik First Nation in Nova Scotia is getting set to launch its treaty fishery Monday even after a series of incidents where nine boats were set adrift in the middle of the night.
The community has been struggling against non-Indigenous commercial fishers and the federal government to fish as is their right according to treaties signed in the mid-1700s.
Last fall Mi’kmaw harvesters were attacked on the water and land as officials with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the RCMP stood back and watched.
The fishery opens as the province goes to the polls on Tuesday. On Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to call a federal election scheduled for Sept. 20.
Chief Mike Sack says no government will infringe on his community’s treaty rights and is calling for help.
“The last thing we want is anyone to be hurt, hopefully we can get a lot of people down there and set up shop and call that area home for a while,” he says.
