National Chief Bellegarde urges Ottawa to rethink Mi’kmaq fisheries decision – CBC

Mar 05, 2021

Perry Bellegarde says Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan has ‘badly mismanaged this file’

The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is demanding the federal government restart talks on the Mi’kmaq fishery in Nova Scotia after the Department of Fisheries (DFO) announced it will not issue fishing licences to First Nations in Atlantic Canada outside of the commercial season.

In a letter sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday, National Chief Perry Bellegarde expressed outrage over DFO’s recent decision, which sides with a key demand from the commercial fishing industry.

“I urge you and the entire federal cabinet to reconsider this mandate and to return to good-faith negotiations,” Bellegarde wrote in a letter obtained by CBC News.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/national-chief-moderate-livelihood-renegotiate-1.5937538