Copyright © 2001 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

Saturday, May 5, 2001
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) members Joel Klassen, Vern Riediger, and Lena Siegers visited a longtime Mi'kmaq fisher who was happy to be back fishing again this season after having suffered a heart attack last year.

Monday, May 7, 2001
The team formulated some questions for Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) area director, Robert Allain, in preparation for an afternoon meeting. These questions were shared with the team's Mi'kmaq community advisors.

The meeting with Robert Allain lasted for two hours. When asked about his plans concerning fishing by Aboriginals, he indicated that DFO was ready but could not discuss it. He said that a structure for negotiation is in place and hopes that Esgenoopetitj will sign on this year. He reported that six other bands have already signed on, though the team has heard conflicting reports about this assertion.

Two Mi'kmaq Fishers dropped by for a short visit. They expressed discouragement about the on-going intransigence of the Canadian government and their own lack of fishing equipment--much of which was confiscated or destroyed in the last two years.

Wednesday, May 9, 2001
The team was advised that the Band Council will be appointing two additional members to be its community contacts.

Thursday, May 10, 2001
In the afternoon several team members visited the wharf and talked to a number of non-native fishers who reported that catches were lower than last year--possibly because of unseasonably cold temperatures.

Friday, May 11, 2001
Siegers and William Payne went on a community walk-about to meet people in the Mi'kmaq community. The team was invited by a local Native community member to attend an Aboriginal Rights Coalition (ARC)-Atlantic meeting in Moncton the next day.

Saturday, May 12, 2001
All six CPTers went to the ARC- A meeting in Moncton. During the morning session Payne (CPT) and Clifford Larry from Esgenoopititj First Nation (EFN) shared their thoughts on their upcoming court appearances.

During the afternoon session Shoemaker explained CPT activities in Esgenoopetitj and noted the links with ARC last year. Riediger talked about our meeting with DFO's Robert Allain on May 7, using selected quotes from the meeting. Payne spoke about his experiences with CPT in Chiapas, and how the issues of Aboriginal rights there were parallel to the issues in Mi'kmaq territory in Atlantic Canada.

EFN member Clifford Larry also explained that while the DFO is now offering 17 licences to the over 1500 members of EFN, that the Mi'kmaq community continues to make use of only 13 of them, the number agreed to prior to the Marshall decision. He also stated that some bands may have signed new fishing agreements with the DFO this year, but that there is not accurate information about this as of yet.

Monday, May 14, 2001
CPTers Barg, Siegers, Krahn, and Riediger spent some time at the Esgenoopetitj band office meeting Councillors and other folk. A local Mi'kmaq woman offered her trailer to sleep in if the CPTers became too wet and cold in their tents.

Tuesday, May 15, 2001
CPTers Barg, Siegers, Krahn, Payne and Riediger headed to Miramichi court for 9:30 a.m. A number of cases involving EFN fishers in incidents from the summer and fall of 2000 were scheduled.

Considerable time was spent on two cases where the defendants stated that they plan to use a defence based on Aboriginal (inherent and treaty) rights in relation to a Fisheries Act charge and had applied for a stay of proceedings until state-funded counsel was provided. The judge was actually quite helpful and chose not to rush. A Native Rights lawyer appeared for the defence to present evidence about the extremely high cost of mounting such a defence.

The highlight of the day was a speech by a young EFN member, given after 5 p.m. His statement moved many people to tears, as he spoke "from the heart, not from a book." He said that he was asking for justice from the very system that arrested him for fishing where his ancestors have been fishing for 11,000 years.

The judge adjourned the cases of many Mi'kmaq to May 29, 2001. These included two who had not been present to offer a defence during a March 2001 trial in which they were convicted of "obstruction of a fisheries officer." While they had appeared for sentencing today, the judge said that "it would be in their best interest" to wait until May 29, presumably because of developments regarding an Aboriginal rights defence for other members of the Mi'kmaq community.

Wednesday, May 16, 2001
The team returned to the Miramichi court to hear Judge McCarroll's ruling on the application by two Mi'kmaq for state-funded counsel. The judge ruled that the defendants met all the points of the test for state-funded counsel: a complex case where a lawyer is necessary, a case of a serious nature and an inability on the part of the defendant to personally pay for the legal costs. The judge disagreed with the Crown prosecutor's assertion that it is not a serious case, stating in his judgement that the outcome was of "national importance" and could affect the defendant's ability to earn a living.

The judge ruled that it was his opinion that in order to receive a "fair" trial the defendants required legal costs to be covered by the government. Noting that he did not have the authority to order the government to pay for the legal costs, he ordered the cases stayed (put on hold) until state-funded counsel is provided by the government. Several other Mi'kmaq have also applied for state-funded counsel in relation to charges laid under Canada's fisheries act. The judge adjourned these to May 29.

Folks from the Mi'kmaq community dropped by the CPT trailer to discuss the day's events. Mi'kmaq fisher Clifford Larry brought some moose meat for the team.

Thursday, May 17, 2001
CPTers Barg, Siegers, Krahn, Payne and Riediger went to the Neguac court. Several cases involving Mi'kmaq fishing were adjourned to later dates.

Friday, May 18, 2001
A Native community member visited the team at its trailer briefly and indicated, in response to inquiries that, in his opinion there is work for CPT to do here even when things are fairly quiet. The team has decided to pursue this question with other members of the Native community as well.

The full team travelled to the Miramichi court building to hear the decision in the case against CPTers Fr. Robert Holmes and William Payne. Judge Henrik Tonning ruled that while Payne and Fr. Holmes were guilty of obstruction, it was a minor infraction. In his ruling he noted that no violence had occurred, and that their actions did not incite others to commit violent acts. The judge emphasized that he agreed with much of what Holmes and Payne had said with regard to the deplorable history of oppression against the First Nations. The judge gave both Payne and Fr. Holmes an absolute discharge despite the fact that the Crown attorney had asked for a $1000 fine for each of them as well as restricted access to the shore and a period of probation. He said that he felt that Holmes and Payne are doing more good than bad in their work, both locally and in other parts of the world, and did not want to impede their work.