UN Committee Asks Canada to Respond to Racism Claim in the Mi’kmaq Fishery Dispute
The United Nations anti-racism committee wants Canada to answer to allegations of racist actions committed against Mi’kmaq lobster fishers in Nova Scotia.
In a letter issued on April 30, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination makes reference to incidents last fall where members of the Sipekne’katik First Nation encountered violence. The incidents were related to a dispute with non-indigenous fishers aggrieved that the Mi’kmaq band was fishing outside of the federally regulated season. The attacks included destruction of a lobster storage facility being used by the band and a van owned by a band member.