This article was first published on APTN.
While the Nova Scotia government in Canada works to pass its controversial law that would make it illegal to block forest roads in the province, Mi’kmaw land protectors say they’re not going anywhere.
On 23 September, the province introduced the Protecting Nova Scotians Act, an omnibus bill that includes everything from strengthening rules around funeral services to procedures on licensing food establishments under the Liquor Control Act.
The part of the proposed law that is drawing the ire of Mi’kmaw across the province deals with Crown Lands.
The bill promises to “prevent the blocking of forest access roads and to allow structures to be removed without notice if they are a hazard to public health, safety or order or if they are impeding the lawful use of Crown lands.”
According to land protectors on the Hunters Mountain, that part of the bill is aimed at them.
“What [Premier] Tim Houston is doing right now is heartbreaking and dishonest,” said Donald Marshall.
“He came to my house campaigning and my mom told him to make a promise. The only way she’d vote for him if he promised to never infringe our treaty rights and he [promised] that he would never interfere with my inherent right, my birth right as a Mi’kmaq.
“Here I am today asserting my treaty rights, I am upholding the Canadian constitution by being here and Tim Houston is violating it.”
Marshall and the other land protectors have been on the mountain in Unamaki, Mi’kmaw for Cape Breton, for a month with a checkpoint and a cedar line. The Mi’kmaw are not blocking the forest road or access to the mountain. Locals are welcome to visit the mountain.
They said they’re protecting the forest from clear-cutting. Sacred lands that contain medicines and important sites.
“I’m upset for my children,” said Kukuwes Wowkis, Mi’kmaw land protector. “I’m upset for this bill that they are passing. I guess it doesn’t even matter if they are passing this bill we’re not going anywhere. They can try to cross our cedar line, we’re not going anywhere.
“This bill passing through legislation doesn’t mean nothing to me anyway I’m staying here. We have a long house we are building. I ordered a cabin, a home and I’m going to live here with my children.”
On Monday, several speakers appeared before a provincial committee and spoke against the bill.
Michelle Paul, a Mi’kmaq water protector and land defender, told the committee on Sept. 29 that the bill was written without consultation or consideration of treaty rights and should be withdrawn.
“It’s not lost upon us that this bill is being rushed through on the eve of Treaty Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation,” said Paul. “This government has shown a disregard and a lack of respect to push this through during this time.”
Paul said the law shouldn’t be aimed at the Mi’kmaw on Hunters Mountain.
“This move attempts to remove our land protectors from their rightful place to protect these lands and waters that our ancestors lived upon,” Paul said.
According to the bill, defiance of the law could result in a $50,000 fine.
Tuma Wilson, a lawyer and professor at Acadia University who is at the Hunters Mountain camp, said Mi’kmaq have an inherent right to be on the land.
“If anything, the Crown Lands Act should be amended to reflect the fact that it is our land and that we work in tandem with you to protect it,” said Wilson.
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs issued a statement on Sept. 26 that was critical of legislation and said was done without prior notice or discussion.
“Despite repeated assurances, the provincial government continues to make significant legislative and policy announcements on natural resource development, without advance notice to, or discussion with, the Mi’kmaq,” the statement posted on social media said. “Several of the recent legislative amendments seem to target protest activity on Crown lands, at a time when there are active community concerns about what is happening on Hunters Mountain.
“This should be a time for greater trust-building with the Mi’kmaq, not escalating tensions and aggressive enforcement action.”
The government said the move was made at the request of conservations officers.
Leitha Haysom, a former councillor with the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg, told the committee that any move that would criminalize peaceful protest is “dangerous and destructive.”
“The move to shut down engagement and interaction with the government is a very odd choice,” said Haysom. “The message it sends about how the province interacts with its citizens about our shared resources is chilling.”
Haysom also dismissed the government’s safety argument, calling it “disingenuous at best.”
“If safety were the main concern … the obvious choice would be to pause (logging) operations while protest is taking place,” she said.
Haysom said if the government believes the changes are necessary then it should remove them from the omnibus bill and have them stand alone in separate legislation.
“Why not engage in meaningful discussion about the management of our forests, clearly Nova Scotians are crying out for this opportunity,” Haysom said.
By Angel Moore of APTN.
