First Nation in British Columbia loses commercial fishing suit

Thursday, November 10, 2011  

The Lax Kw'alaams First Nation in British Columbia is not entitled to a commercial fishery, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled today.

The band sought to harvest and sell seaweed, shellfish and fish in its aboriginal territory. But the court said the tribe's subsistence rights do not extend to a commercial operation.

"The practices, customs and traditions of the pre‑contact society do not provide an evidentiary springboard to a constitutionally protected Aboriginal right to harvest and sell all varieties of fish in a modern commercial fishery," the decision stated.

"The pre‑contact society was not a trading people," the court concluded, with the exception of eulachon oil, which has been described as an important commodity in B.C.

Turtle Talk previously posted materials from the case, Lax Kw’alaams Indian Band v. Canada.

Get the Story:
Ruling denies commercial fishing rights to B.C. First Nation (CBC 11/10)

Supreme Court Decision:
Lax Kw’alaams Indian Band v. Canada (November 10, 2011)

The Economist: First Nations seek to broaden fishing rights (5/12)