A group of Mi’kmaq and other advocates are protesting over frustrations with logging on their territory.
Since early September, a group has gathered on a road to Hunters Mountain in Cape Breton, blocking access to a logging road used by Port Hawkesbury Paper, according to multiple reports. The company suspended operations in response.
A man who asked to be called John Q L’nu says he’s standing with the other land protectors to protect the moose population.
“When I was 15, I could take a look at five moose, choose one and shoot it and take it off the mountain and know that there would be moose next year for my family to hunt,” said John.
Now he says he’s lucky to find droppings and two hoof prints.
John said he would not call the people gathered on the road protesters. It’s an educational gathering, he said, where people are drumming, dancing in jingle dresses, and where they’re having sacred teachings by the sacred fire. People from local communities are there, too, he said, and anyone is welcome to join because “we are all treaty people.”
He says moose are just one part of the ecosystem, which is overall impacted by clear-cutting in the forest industry. That is part of the reason he and many others are frustrated.
But he also wants the province and companies to respect the Mi’kmaq’s right to free, prior and informed consent, which is outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. The act came into effect in Canada in 2021.
It says Indigenous people should be consulted before and participate in decisions that affect them and their territory. That consultation should be “free from manipulation or coercion, informed by adequate and timely information, and occur sufficiently prior to a decision,” according to the Act.
Crown Lands Act
A new act proposed by the government is blatant disregard to free, prior and informed consent, he said.
Changes to the Crown Lands Act, part of Bill 127, would make it illegal to block logging roads. It was tabled in the legislature last week.
“The [change to the] Crown’s Land Act is a direct is a direct response to what is happening up here, and they’ll claim it’s not, but they’re liars,” said John.
Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton has said that they don’t want to stop peaceful protests, but the legislation could be used if people are blocking economic activity.
“We’re not trying to block any peaceful protests. That’s not what this is about. It’s about being able to utilize aspects of Crown land for all Nova Scotians, whether that’s recreational, visiting people from Nova Scotia utilizing crown lands, or economic activity,” said Rushton.
