Indigenous and commercial fishermen are calling on the government to intervene in a dispute over off-season lobster fishing by a Mi’kmaw fishery. 

According to Nova Scotia coordinator of the Maritime Fishermen’s Union (MFU) Ruth Inniss, commercial fishermen have been painted in an unfair light. 

“We want to have dialogue. We need to have dialogue and that’s not happening. In my mind it’s the federal government that is painting us as racist and First Nations. That is not us. That is not on us. We want to be able to prosecute the fishery under the same rule of law,” said Inniss. 

Commercial fishermen were reacting to comments made by federal ministers and the mainstream media which have painted them as racists and as being anti-Indigenous. 

Yesterday, during a press conference on the dispute, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller called the events taking place in the province “disgusting, unacceptable and racist in nature.” 

In a similarly worded letter, Federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan condemned “acts of violence, racism and threats.” 

Tensions between non-Indigenous and Indigenous fishermen reached a climax last week after two mob incidents erupted in violence and a lobster holding facility was set on fire. The facility was not owned by the Sipeknek’katik First Nations but it did have dealings with First Nations fishermen.

Last Thursday, two Mi’kmaw lobster storehouses were surrounded by an angry mob calling on fishermen inside to relinquish their catches. Despite police arriving on scene, fires were set and property was damaged, including one vehicle. 

The government accused federal RCMP officers of not doing enough to calm the situation. 

“We are expecting the RCMP and police services to do their jobs and keep people safe,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the situation. 

“I think there’s been some concern that that hasn’t been done well enough and that’s certainly something we will be looking at very closely.”

Commercial fishermen claim that the fisheries are operating outside of the law, which requires fishing only to be done during regulated seasons. 

First Nations fishermen point to the 1999 Marshall ruling that effectively makes fishing for moderate livelihood and sustenance a treaty right. A right which opponents dispute citing another court ruling which gives the federal government power to regulate any Indigenous fisheries. 

“We need an opportunity to negotiate and discuss the issues. I can assure you the commercial industry feels they have not had an opportunity to have their voices heard at the table,” said former provincial fisheries minister Sterling Belliveau. 

“Whatever Marshall started needs to happen within the seasons. It’s as simple as that. Once you get outside of those seasons, you are going to have this conflict.”

Sipekne’katik First Nation Chief Mike Sack has vowed to defend Mi’kmaw treaty rights and continue the practice. Sack also accused the federal Liberals of not doing enough to remedy the tensions.

A disproportionate amount of men 45-years or older living in rural areas are dying by suicide, a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal reveals. 

Researchers found that out of over 2,700 firearm-related deaths from 2002 to 2016, 68% of all deaths were as a result of suicide. 

“Even though violent injuries receive most attention, most health care practitioners that work in this field know the vast majority of deaths are actually secondary to suicide. When we speak to our rural colleagues, they tell us this is a day-to-day practice,” said study co-author and trauma surgeon Dr. David Gomez. 

According to Dr. Gomez, gun-related suicides in rural communities also outnumber those in urban areas like Toronto, where gun-related assaults take precedence.  

“The difference is staggering. This is a problem that’s happening in rural populations all across Ontario,” said Dr. David Gomez. 

A lack of access to mental health and social resources could be behind the trends. 

“The basket of services in rural and northern Ontario is not comprehensive. Residents of these regions have limited availability and access to primary health care, specialists, hospitals and community services and supports,” claims the Canadian Mental Health Association. 

“For individuals living with mental illness, there are additional barriers to accessing primary health care and psychiatrists beyond the limitations of being in an underserviced area. Information from the field indicates that family physicians are increasingly screening out individuals living with mental illness and/or addictions who have complex health needs. Even for those individuals who have regular access to a primary health care provider, there is limited access to psychiatric assessments.”

Even younger men in rural communities are reporting that life-saving mental health services have been difficult to access. 

22-year-old Sawyer Kemp told Global News that organizations have been slow to process those suffering with mental health issues and have had to deal with a “lack of empathy” from those who are supposed to help them. 

“The moment I turned 18 was when I filed my release forms and it very much became ‘you’re on your own,” said Kemp, who has struggled with suicidal thoughts.

“I reached out to several places. They said ‘we’ll put you on a wait list. You’ll hear from us within a few months.’ That was a year ago.”

Rural communities in Canada have also had to struggle with slow police response times and disproportionate crime rates.

According to Statistics Canada data from 2017, the crime rate in rural communities was 38% higher than in urban communities.  

“Higher crime rates in rural areas were mainly observed in the Prairie provinces,” said the report, Police-Reported Crime in Rural and Urban Areas in the Canadian Provinces, 2017.

Queen’s University is stripping the name of Canada’s first prime minister from its law school building. 

On Monday, the Queen’s board of trustees agreed to rename Sir John A Macdonald Hall after a lengthy consultation on the matter. 

“Our recommendation is based on the terrible harm Sir John A. Macdonald’s actions, from a position of the highest possible leadership, had on generations of people,” said a 65-page report calling for the removal of Macdonald’s name.

According to Queen’s law school dean Mark Walters, the decision is not meant to “condemn Macdonald’s character or to dismiss his contributions.” 

“Removing Macdonald’s name from the law school building may be seen as one small way of honouring the underlying values that animate the constitution that Macdonald helped to frame,” said Walters. 

The decision from Queen’s follows on the heels of recent calls by anti-racism activists to have historical place names changed over purported racist and colonial histories. 

In August, activists toppled and decapitated a Sir John A Macdonald statue in Montreal. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke out against the actions calling them “acts of vandalism” that are “not advancing the path towards greater justice and equality.”