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"The Union of BC Indian Chiefs, First Nations Summit and the BC Aboriginal Fisheries Commission, join forces to support the Musqueam and Tsawassen First Nation's Fishery."

Coast Salish Territory ~ Aug. 3, 2002 - Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC); Grand Chief Ed John, Executive member of the First Nations Summit and Arnie Narcisse, Chairman of the British Columbia Aboriginal Fisheries Commission were on hand in Steveston today to demonstrate their collective support for the Musqueam and Tsawwassen First Nations' legally sanctioned fishery.

Up to 100 non-Native fishing boats were on the water early this morning, (Saturday, August 3, 2002) to protest the legitimate Native fishery. Approximately twenty Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) personnel patrolled the protest fishery.

Chief Stewart Phillip of the UBCIC stated, "I am greatly disappointed to witness, here today, a mere shadow of a presence of DFO who are theatrically going through the actions of 'monitoring the situation' and laying the odd charge. Yet, by stark contrast, when DFO personnel are involved in enforcement measures involving First Nations people they apply the law in the most severe and punitive manner possible."

Chief Phillip went on to say, "I personally witnessed the brutal heavy-handed enforcement actions of DFO at Burnt Church and at Cheam, near Agassiz, on the Fraser River. These enforcement actions involved hundreds of DFO personnel, Coast Guard personnel, helicopters, surveillance aircraft as well as the RCMP. As a consequence of these enforcement actions, fishing vessels were seized, hundreds of thousands of dollars of fishing gear was seized and hundreds of charges were laid and some defendants were jailed."

Chief Phillip said, "It is clearly evident that a double standard of law enforcement continues to exist in this country. In other words, DFO continues to apply and enforce the law in the same racist fashion as it has in the past. Nothing has changed."

Chief Phillip concluded, "The highly illegal and totally irresponsible actions of the members of the Fisheries Survival Coalition (FSC) today shall only serve to endanger and jeopardize the fishing stocks of the future. If nothing else, today's actions on the part of the FSC fully expose their hypocrisy in relation to their publicly stated concerns about conservation. We demand that the members of the Fisherman's Survival Coalition who participated in today's illegal actions be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Established in 1969, the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs is a political organization protecting the Aboriginal Title and Rights of our member communities. We are based in Kamloops and have an office in Vancouver. For further details visit our website.