halifax –
Federal fisheries officials in Nova Scotia say they are refusing some enforcement duties due to safety threats as they await Ottawa’s response to complaints.
The union representing the officers says its members have been shot, their firearms attempted to be stolen, and officers and their families threatened for trying to stop illegal fishing.
“They are exposed to firearms, including automatic weapons, and current protective gear cannot protect them,” Health and Environmental Workers Union President Simen Fayad said in an email Wednesday.
He said federal labor investigators are reviewing documents from the Department of Fisheries and officials who have refused some of their enforcement duties on the state’s water and docks.
“We expect to hear something next week” about the process for refusing hazardous work permitted under the Canada Labor Act, Fayad said.
Meanwhile, commercial fishermen are calling for increased enforcement, saying illegal and unregulated fishing is common throughout the state.
“We are committed to providing real-world, concrete action against the illegal black market lobstering activity going on across our coasts,” Dan Fleck, executive director of the Brazilian Rock 33/34 Lobster Association, said in a recent phone interview. “I hope that they will carry out similar enforcement activities.”
Under the Canada Labor Act, the federal Labor Minister is empowered to determine whether a “danger exists” after an investigation and issue mandatory instructions to make safety changes. But according to the law, department employees do not have the right to refuse work if Stephen McKinnon’s office determines there is no danger on the water. However, this decision can be appealed.
Fayad said that when her members first raised their concerns with the government, the Fisheries Department determined there was “no danger” to the workers, leading to a review by the labor minister.
“We have a number of employees who have refused to work in the field, and we are working with the (federal) department to move forward with that process,” Doug Wentzel, maritime regional director of the Federal Fisheries Service, said in a recent interview. Ta. About labor. ”
The civil service director said that despite the denial, “the majority of our staff are on the ground in this region, and we are supplementing those resources with staff from other DFO regions.” He estimated there were about 100 officers in the area.
A government official familiar with the work refusal requests said about half of the field police officers in southwestern Nova Scotia, home to the region’s most lucrative lobster fishery, are not performing enforcement duties in the field due to safety concerns. Ta.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the risk of employment retaliation, said fishermen were becoming more reluctant to accept police authority and operations were becoming more violent. He also said tensions with some indigenous fishermen were rising.
“We raised the issue with management. Management chose to ignore the issue,” he said.
“While we were working on this issue, officers found themselves in a dangerous situation. Three officers were hit by a vehicle. There was a scuffle where one person tried to grab the officer’s gun. “There was a very serious altercation,” he said. .
Efforts to tighten regulations for the lucrative spring harvest of juvenile eel, known as elver, from East Coast rivers are also a source of tension with indigenous peoples, he said.
But a First Nation chief who fishes for lobster off the coast of southwestern Nova Scotia said his fishermen are not invaders, but rather continue fishing to feed and support their families.
“Our Mi’kmaq fishermen have experienced enough. DFO employees are not victims. We cannot accept this narrative,” said Chief Michelle Glasgow, the group’s leader. Sipeknekatik First Nationby email.
Lobster fishermen in her area are exercising their treaty rights and will continue to do so, she said. “All they (federal fisheries officials) have to do is respect this. That they continue to harass the public and tell them how much they can eat, how little they can eat. We can’t. If they’re afraid, it’s not because of our actions.” ”
Chief Wilbert Marshall, Co-Director of Fisheries Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs Conferenceissued an emailed statement saying, “Violence on the water is unacceptable. Whether working for (DFO) conservation and protection or fishing, no one should be allowed to go to work. You don’t have to worry about your safety.”
“We have seen these types of conflicts for more than 20 years, but things need to change. We need to improve treaty-protected fishing rights to create a more consistent environment for everyone. “We’ve been working to build bridges with DFO and conservation officials regarding this. We want to do that. “These types of safety issues are avoidable in the future, but it will take real time to get there. We need your cooperation,” the statement said.
In 2020, tensions escalated in southwestern Nova Scotia, leading to First Nations traps being cut, a boat destroyed and a lobster pond serving Mi’kmaq fish being burned.
Jason Popik, the RCMP’s recently appointed senior officer for the Nova Southwest region, said in an interview that DFO officers continue to be “at sea” off the coast of Meteghan, N.S., and that southern Nova Scotia has been hit twice in recent weeks. He said significant enforcement had been carried out on the matter.
“It shows the community is working and making an effort. We’re not seeing any major (work) stoppages.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2024.
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