And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Date: Wed, 29 Sep 1999 17:19:06 -0400
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: Lynne Moss-Sharman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Canada 9/29/99
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Editorial Toronto Star
September 29, 1999
Fishing rights
Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court of Canada delivered an historic decision.
It declared that a 1760 treaty gave the Micmac and Maliseet in Nova Scotia
and New Brunswick the right to catch and sell fish year round. The British
agreed to this because they also had an interest ``in terminating
hostilities and establishing the basis for a stable peace.'' The Micmacs
and Maliseets would not have agreed to anything less, the court held.
There is considerable irony in this reasoning. The first casualty of the
court's judgment was a ``basis for a stable peace'' between native and
non-native fishermen in Atlantic Canada. The immediate problem is more
natives going after lobster. Natives - many of them not even fishers until
two weeks ago - are fishing and earning big money on the basis of the
Supreme Court ruling. Non-natives are not, on the basis of federal
fisheries conservation rules. Tempers are high. Threats are flying -
including threats to burn boats, destroy traps and worse.
Donald Marshall, the Micmac folk hero whose fight to catch and sell eels
year-round produced the high court decision, has appealed to native
fishermen to pull their pots from the water.``I don't want to see anyone
get killed,'' he said. Federal Fisheries Minister Herb Dhaliwal is walking
a fine line. He has warned that fisheries officers will take action if the
native fishermen take undersized lobster or the egg-bearing females on
which a healthy stock depends. But his options are limited, not only by the
court, but also by the dangerously high emotions on the docks. The next
days will tell the tale. Everyone needs to pull back and agree on new rules
to accommodate native and non-native alike. Regulations there must be, and
the idea of regulations should not be a problem. The treaty right, the
court said, ``is not a right to trade generally for economic gain, but
rather a right to trade for necessaries. Catch limits that could reasonably
be expected to produce a moderate livelihood for individual Micmac families
at present-day standards can be established by regulation.'' The problem is
not the idea but the reality of the fishery. In 1760, when the British
signed the treaties which bind us, you could practically walk across
Atlantic and Pacific rivers on the backs of the fish. Trees grew to the
horizon. Rivers flowed unpolluted to the sea. No longer. Today, many fish
stocks are near extinction. Each disappearance transfers fishing pressure
to the rest. What is happening with the lobster-hunting Micmac and Maliseet
is the future in microcosm - a future with no room to manoeuvre. We have
more fishers. We have fewer fish. The fairest regulations on earth can't
change that. The mathematics are inexorable. There is no recipe for a
``moderate livelihood'' for anyone in more fishers and fewer fish. There is
no basis for ``terminating hostilities and creating a basis for a stable
peace.'' There is a basis only for making an unavoidable choice. We are
either going to have fewer fishers, native and
non-native. Or we are going to have fewer fish - and then fewer fishers.
And then none at all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Native urges talks to avoid fishing war
Donald Marshall wants nets pulled before violence
erupts across Maritimes
By Kelly Toughill
Toronto Star Atlantic Canada Bureau
HALIFAX, N.S. - The Micmac man at the centre of this region's
brewing fish war yesterday made an emotional appeal to native
people to pull their lobster pots from the sea to prevent
bloodshed on Maritime wharves. ``Everything is way out of control right
now; I don't want anybody to get hurt,'' Donald Marshall Jr. said in a
phone interview from Cape Breton. ``Our leaders, federal officials and
others have to sit down and work it out or all hell will break loose. The
reason we want them to pull their traps out of the water is violence;
everyone is confused about what's going on,'' he said. Meanwhile, federal
fishery officials yesterday laid charges
against two Metis men near Yarmouth, N.S. Just 13 days ago, Marshall won a
historic Supreme Court decision that recognizes Micmac and Maliseet people
have the legal right to profit from many of this region's natural
resources, including fish and wild game. That ruling prompted scores of
native people to cash in on the lucrative lobster trade.
That, in turn, has enraged non-native
fishermen, who must follow strict regulations about when and
how lobsters are caught. In Yarmouth and Neguac, N.B., fishermen have
talked of burning native fish boats, destroying their gear, cutting loose
their traps and even killing Micmac people who exercise their newly
recognized rights to fish. Marshall said yesterday that he is troubled by
the current of violence unleashed by his court victory. ``The last few
days, I couldn't sleep too good,'' he said. ``I don't want to jeopardize
the people of Nova Scotia either. You can't turn your back on people. If we
stick together, we'll get things done.''
Micmac chiefs last night discussed Marshall's plea at a closed
door meeting in Fredericton. They are to decide today whether
they should follow his advice and ask their members to stop
fishing until tempers cool. Lawrence Paul, chief of Nova Scotia's
1,100-member Millbrook band, thought Marshall's plea made sense.
But at least one chief disagreed, saying native people waited
too long for the court to recognize their treaty rights to give up
now. ``If there are threats, if someone tries violence, well that's why we
have law and order and police to protect us,'' said Chief
Michael Augustine of New Brunswick's Red Bank reserve.
``The natives are directly taking from other people's livelihood,''
said Mike Belliveau, executive secretary of the Maritime
Fishermen's Union. ``They have backed the boys into a corner. Nobody is
advocating crazy stuff, but a lot of crazy stuff is being talked
about.'' New Brunswick fishermen decided last night not to go through with
threats to destroy native traps today. Instead they will wait a few more
days, one said, before acting. In Ottawa, ministers appealed once again for
patience and calm, saying justice department lawyers have been asked to
clarify the ruling. One thing they are trying to figure out is whether the
ruling applies only to people with full native status or those who can
prove some native heritage. The two men charged yesterday in Yarmouth are
not band
members, but claim native heritage. Justice officials are also looking at
whether the court conferred individual or communal rights, and what the
justices meant by saying the aboriginals had the right to make a
``reasonable'' living. ``I think in the next two days when we clarify some
of these important issues we'll have a better idea of what sort of
regulations and what options we have. So I think we'll have to be
patient,'' said Fisheries Minister Herb Dhaliwal. Prime Minister Jean
Chr�tien stressed the government will come up with a solution as quickly as
possible, although he would
not say what Ottawa's options are.
With files from Laura Eggertson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, September 29, 1999
Nunavut's suicide rate has doubled since 1982, national
study reveals
Northerners need more help: report
Tom Arnold
National Post
A 15-year national study reveals a dramatic increase in the rate of
suicides in the North -- particularly in the territory of Nunavut.
According to the research -- which examined the period between
1982 and 1996 -- suicides by hanging climbed by more than 100%,
while self-inflicted gun deaths jumped by about 50%. Three consecutive
five-year periods were examined by experts in
Health Canada's Laboratory Centre for Disease Control and the
Department of Health and Social Services of the Northwest
Territories. The examination of 343 N.W.T. suicides indicates that
the rate doubled between the first and the third period in Nunavut, the new
territory carved out of the N.W.T.'s eastern region. It also
suggests that the further east, the higher the rate of suicide for both
males and females. Over the same 15-year period, the rate declined in the
Western N.W.T. The study, which appears in Chronic Diseases in Canada, a
publication of the federal Health Department, concluded the results suggest
there is a "rising risk" of suicide among the Inuit of Nunavut, who make up
85% of the region's population. "The upward trend in the suicide rate among
residents of Nunavut over the last 15 years is striking, as is the
difference in rates between Nunavut and Western N.W.T.," it states. A
closer examination of suicides in the area between 1994 and 1996
-- by examining records in the chief coroner's office -- found that
36% of those who committed suicide had experienced a recent
relationship breakup, and 21% were facing criminal proceedings.
Alcohol intoxication was involved in 33% of the cases. Suicide among
Canadian aboriginals is reportedly up to four times more frequent than in
the population at large. In this study's calculation by ethnic group, the
highest suicide rate occurred among Inuit, followed by Dene. The report
does not explain why suicide rates in the Northwest Territories are so
high. However, the study does speculate that risk factors for suicide are
actually systemic to the "life experience" of many northern communities,
such as unemployment, poverty, poor education, lack of opportunity and loss
of cultural identity. According to the report, there is a preponderance of
young males and Inuit among those who commit suicide. It calls for more
assistance for northern communities, saying residents "need to be empowered
to act with the appropriate resources -- within themselves or through
access to emergency services -- in order to avert future tragedies."
Previous suicide studies have concluded that males and people aged 15-29
are most at risk.
Wednesday, September 29, 1999
Mountie relives shooting Harley Clayton Timmers cried, 'You shot me in the
head! I'm going to die!' fatality inquiry told
By CP
WHITEHORSE -- Screaming after he was fatally shot in the head by a
Mountie, Harley Clayton Timmers knew he was going to die, the officer told
a fatality inquiry yesterday. RCMP Cpl. Wayne Foster described the shooting
of Harley Clayton Timmers publicly for the first time at the packed
coroner's inquest. "You shot me in the head, I'm going to die. You shot me
in the head, I'm going to die. He said that twice," Cpl. Foster testified.
Five shots were fired from Foster's gun the night of Sept. 8, 1998. But
Foster, 36, said he did not have any recollection of the fifth shot being
fired.
Timmers, of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation, died the day after the
shooting on his 23rd birthday.
Foster, a 10-year member of the RCMP, said shortly after 2 a.m.
he passed a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle
reported stolen earlier that night. Foster gave chase and the suspect car
ended up stuck in a ditch. Timmers got out of the vehicle and ran off.
Foster said he noted the driver was a native male but he didn't recognize
Timmers, who was known to police, until after the incident. Foster radioed
for help then pursued Timmers, whom he caught within a few minutes. "I ran
up to him and put him in a head-lock," said Foster. He said he told
Timmers: "Let's not be stupid here. This isn't something that's real
serious." Timmers kept on fighting and when Foster lost his grip Timmers
quickly got the upper hand. Foster, whose voice trembled and who was
visibly upset during his testimony, said Timmers started to choke him and
tried to hit him in the head with a beer bottle. He said he started to
feel lightheaded and dizzy and couldn't breathe. "To get out of this hold,
I was doing anything and everything I could," he told the inquest. He said
he feared for his life, and thought of giving up. But his wife and his
children came to his mind. "I said to myself, 'There's no way I'm going to
end my life here on a dirt pile,'" Foster said in a shaking voice. Foster,
who had never before fired his weapon on duty, grabbed his gun and fired
three shots behind him, one toward Timmers' torso, and two toward his legs.
Then his gun misfired. Foster said Timmers' grip remained tight. "I've got
to get this gun to work - he's going to kill me," Foster said he thought.
Timmers then reached out to get the gun, Foster said.
The officer said he saw Timmers head, aimed and shot. Timmers fell back,
and began to yell at Foster that he had shot him in the head.
It was then that he said he recognized Timmers. No charges have been laid
against Foster, nor are any charges contemplated, the inquiry heard Monday.
The inquest, which began Monday, is scheduled to take two weeks.
Wednesday, September 29, 1999
Mini powwow to salute dying boy
By NICOLE BERGOT and KAREN DECOUX, EDMONTON SUN
Drumsongs and dancing that draw on the earth's strength will
honour little Kale Johnson at a mini powwow next week. Alfred Beaver of the
Edmonton-based Rock Island drum group organized the Oct. 8 ceremony for the
terminally-ill 30-month-old after reading his story in The Sun yesterday.
The ceremony at Edmonton's Canadian Native Friendship Centre, 11205 101
St., is to include a traditional healing dance for Kale. "We're going to
pray for him in our own way without raising any false hopes," said Beaver,
who also wants to bridge the gap between native and non-native worlds. A
sacred pipe ceremony will begin about 5 p.m. before Kale is honoured
between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Enoch First Nation's River Cree drum group will
host the ceremony. Kale's mom Christine, 30, said she and her only child
look forward to the experience. Beaver's support is one of dozens the
family has received since the toddler's story first appeared in The Sunday
Sun. "This will be a completely new experience for Kale," said Christine,
whose boy was diagnosed and treated for liver cancer
last December. The disease has since spread to his lungs. Kale is now being
kept as comfortable as possible through palliative care.
A trust fund in Christine's name to help Kale experience a lifetime
of joy has been set up at Canada Trust. The cash will also help Christine
tackle bills that have been mounting since the single mom was forced to
quit her job as a restaurant manager when Kale became ill last year. "It's
not something you want to talk about. Kale is what really matters. We
figure we'll worry about the money later," said Christine, who also wants
to share some of the donations with local charities. Christine said her
positive attitude comes from knowing many other families of cancer victims
are also suffering financially. "I'm really fortunate I have a lot of
family and friends who try to help out," she said. "I think I'm lucky with
all the support."
"Let Us Consider The Human Brain As
A Very Complex Photographic Plate"
1957 G.H. Estabrooks
www.angelfire.com/mn/mcap/bc.html
FOR K A R E N #01182
who died fighting 4/23/99
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.aches-mc.org
807-622-5407
