The First Nation at the centre of a highly contentious out-of-season lobster fishery in southwest Nova Scotia says mediation with the federal government is bearing fruit, with lengthy meetings between both sides leading to the first “meaningful dialogue” in 25 years.

The comments from the lawyer for Sipekne’katik First Nation come in a letter to a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge that asks that litigation launched by the band against the federal government in 2021 be paused for another six months to allow negotiations to continue.

The two sides, along with intervener Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance, which represents commercial fishing interests, are expected to discuss the time extension in court this morning.

Sipekne’katik First Nation launched its summer and fall fishery in St. Marys Bay in southwest Nova Scotia in 2020. It runs outside of the commercial season in the area, which begins in late November.

The band has claimed the Mi’kmaq have a treaty right to fish lobster for a moderate livelihood, citing the 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision in the Marshall case. Many commercial fishermen are opposed to Sipekne’katik’s fishery, and there’s been major tensions in the area.

The band sued the federal government, seeking a declaration from the court that the federal Fisheries Act and regulations infringe on the treaty right to fish lobster for a moderate livelihood, including the prohibition on catching and holding lobsters without a licence and fishing outside of a commercial season.

17 meetings

A trial was due to begin next May. But earlier this year, Justice John Keith paused the litigation — at the request of both Sipekne’katik and the federal government — until today, after both requested time to try to negotiate a resolution instead of heading to trial.

In the letter to the court, Ronald Pink, the band’s lawyer, said Sipekne’katik and the federal government, including three Department of Fisheries and Oceans officials, have met 17 times since June, with meetings often lasting six to seven hours. 

The relationship between Sipekne’katik and the federal government has not been “healthy” since the Marshall decision, the letter said, but the meetings are leading to “significant progress,” although the dispute is not yet resolved.

“The progress made to date and moving forward from our 25 years of impasse is immeasurable, and thanks to the commitment of both parties,” the letter said.

The Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance has been heavily opposed to the Sipekne’katik fishery. In August, it sued the band and its chief, Michelle Glasgow, and wants a judge to declare the fishery unlawful.

The lawsuit claims lobster stocks in St. Marys Bay have been hurt, forcing 30 licensed commercial fishermen to “abandon” the area, harming the incomes of those that remain and leading to the closure of a lobster processing business in the area.