November 22, 1999
(Justice)

Minister responds to Supreme Court clarification of Marshall decision

Justice Minister Paul Dicks today said he was pleased with the recent Supreme Court of Canada clarification on the Marshall decision.

"The clarification substantially supports Newfoundland and Labrador's position that the rights recognized by the Supreme Court are geographically limited to the traditional hunting and fishing territories of those Aboriginal communities on whose behalf the treaties were signed. According to the Court, the treaties of 1760 and 1761, signed in Nova Scotia, were `local and the reciprocal benefits were local'," said Minister Dicks.

The minister also noted that the Supreme Court makes it clear that the application of these treaties is limited to the types of resources traditionally gathered and therefore does not apply to broader resource issues such as forestry and mineral resources.

"I am also pleased that the Supreme Court has made it very clear that access to fishery resources is a regulated right and not an unlimited right as some in the Aboriginal community have claimed," said Minister Dicks.

Media contact: David Wells, Director of Communications, (709) 729 6830.

1999 11 22 3:35 p.m.