No Hidden Agenda In Native Fishing Review: Gov’t
Friday, July 09, 2010 at 14:45
A manager from Saskatchewan Environment is clarifying some aspects of the government’s new fisheries management plan.
Chris Dunn is responding to recent criticism by a member of a Metis local in Pinehouse.
Vince Natomagan says he doesn’t feel the government should be trying to gauge how many fish are caught by Aboriginal harvesters to feed their families.
The Metis resident says it’s none of the government’s business and he wonders where it could lead.
Dunn says the province doesn’t have a hidden agenda, adding the government is well aware of the Aboriginal right to fish for food and is not looking to infringe upon that.
Dunn also says the government isn’t looking to monitor every fish an Aboriginal person takes for sustenance purposes.
Rather, he says the government needs to get a better sense of the total harvest “to ensure there is enough resource for that type of fishing”.
Dunn adds they also would be focusing on larger lakes with multiple kinds of uses.