The Nuu-chah-nulth Hereditary Chiefs and the delegates of the Council of Ha’wiih Forum on Fisheries are saying #ENOUGHALREADY to the federal government for stalling and outright refusing to work to implement the Nuu-chah-nulth’s Supreme Court of Canada’s court-affirmed right to fish and sell fish from their territories.
And now they are looking for the public’s help to put pressure on the federal government to get this work done with a petition and online #ENOUGHALREADY social media campaign.
In 2009, the rights of five Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations to fish and sell fish commercially were recognized by the BC Supreme Court then upheld in 2013 by the Supreme Court of Canada. It's been five years of failed negotiations with Harper’s government, and the Nuu-chah-nulth are still unable to feed their families with their catches and make a living wage.
“Rather than fishing and supporting our communities, we’ve been in and out of court fighting with the government to exercise rights we’ve already won. We’ve had enough!,” reads a statement sent to Ha-Shilth-Sa. Nuu-chah-nulth-aht have been trying to negotiate with Fisheries and Oceans Canada “fair and sustainable fishing plans” that “allow us to benefit from the resources of our waters,” but they say they are frustrated at every turn.
At the Nuu-chah-nulth forum on fisheries, the Council of Ha’wiih, where the Hereditary leadership and their designated representatives meet to discuss fisheries-related management and governance, they decided to provide an example of what they hope will become a social media storm.
In the lead-up to the next federal election they want to put their position on the record for all the federal political parties to see and hear.
They ask the public to sign their petition here www.enoughalready.ca and to tell Canada why they support it by taking a photo with a poster that completes this statement: I SUPPORT THE RIGHT OF NUU-CHAH-NULTH FIRST NATIONS TO FISH. I’VE HAD #ENOUGHALREADY BECAUSE… and then share that photo on social media with the hashtag #ENOUGHALREADY
Their example that the ha’wiih and delegates are standing before states: We support the rights of Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations to fish! We’ve had #ENOUGHALREADY because as Nuu-chah-nulth Hereditary Chiefs we are responsible for taking care of our people and the resources in our territories. Our fishers making a living from our resources is part of this responsibility!
