Spirit of Gladstone lost

Page 9

Amidst a pristine ecosystem rich in natural resources, the Heiltsuk First Nation continues to struggle for survival and has made the decision to take the government to court.

On July 4, the First Nation confirmed its decision to work outside of the British Columbia treaty process because of what they see as a narrowing intrepretation of the 1996 Gladstone decision by negotiators. The Supreme Court Gladstone decision entitled Heiltsuk to a commercial fishery of herring roe on kelp.

"We get such a minute amount and we don't feel that there is any equity there in terms of social value. Really, they're not giving us anything significant," said Robert Germyn, chief councillor of the Heiltsuk First Nation.

"A fleet comes in here and there is a $40- or $50-million in value of the herring fishery. A commericial sector comes in and none of those benefits stay in our area. We really don't derive any of those benefits from our resources in our territory other than the five per cent of the total herring fishery catch quota, which we have really had to work at trying to achieve."

In the first year after the Gladstone decision, Heiltsuk was alloted 96,000 pounds. of the fishery by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). The second year they saw that amount increase to 144,000 pounds, where it has remained static as the nation continues to deal with 85 per cent unemployment in the community.

"We submitted our management plan to the DFO where we wanted incremental every year," said Kelly Brown, chief negotiator for Heiltsuk. "We want in the neighborhood of 400,000 pounds of herring roe on kelp given to our people and that we would settle on that in the interim agreement until treaty neogitiations were completed."

The Heiltsuk Nation has stalled at stage four, or the agreement-in-principle, in treaty negotiations.

"We developed the management plan with some of the leading experts on fisheries and tabled our own management plan in how we would implement and exercise our rights under the Gladstone decision," said Germyn. "But we have not gotten anywhere. DFO has basically said that they have met their requirements for Gladstone."

John Bell, chief negotiator for the federal government at the Heiltsuk table, plans to address and discuss the issue at the next main table meeting with the nation.

"I think it is natural to want to get the maximum that you can. I do know, we all know, what the decision of the Gladstone case was in terms of the court's pronouncement, that the Heiltsuk had a commercial right for fishing herring roe and kelp," said Bell. "And now the issue is the quantity, and the sub-issue is how do you arrive at that? Through a treaty negotiations or outside a treaty?"

The Heiltsuk Nation has more than 2,000 members in its band and the number is expected to increase in the next 20 years.

"We are saying we are not going to settle for this. This is not a workable proposition for us and we have no other recourse but to go forward legally," said Germyn. "We have to try to meet the need of our community which is a growing community. Who is going to provide and what kind of resources are going to save those people?"