"Native rights are a head-scratcher, but it's really difficult to understand the province withdrawing from key court cases involving the West Coast fishery.

Consider what's happened.

The Lax Kw'alaams band, about 3,000 descendants of the Coast Tsimshian tribes who live on a reserve near Prince Rupert, are mulling a Supreme Court of Canada appeal after recently losing a round in their fight for commercial fishing rights.

They claim a broad right to harvest commercially along the north coast not only salmon, but also halibut, herring and other species -- which has huge implications for the sport and commercial fishing industries.

That appears to be what the Ahousat people, who live on the west coast of Vancouver Island, managed to achieve last year in a more recent decision by the B.C. Supreme Court."

Get the Story:
Ian Mulgrew: Victoria abrogates responsibility in native-rights cases (The Vancouver Sun 2/3)

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Sophie Pierre: Series on treaties in British Columbia (01/21)