Food Fish, Commercial Fish, and Fish to Support a Moderate Livelihood: Characterizing Aboriginal and Treaty Rights to Canadian Fisheries

Arctic Review on Law and Politics, Vol. 1, pp. 82-107, 2010

26 Pages Posted: 25 Apr 2010

See all articles by Douglas C. Harris

Douglas C. Harris

Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia

Peter Millerd

Independent

Date Written: January 6, 2010

Abstract

The Aboriginal peoples of Canada stand in a different legal relationship to the fisheries than non-Aboriginal Canadians. They do so by virtue of a long history with the fisheries that precedes non-Aboriginal settlement in North America, and because of the constitutional entrenchment of Aboriginal and treaty rights in Canadian law. This article describes the characterizations of Aboriginal and treaty rights to fish in Canadian law and discusses what it means for rights characterized in terms of food fishing, commercial fishing, and fishing to support a moderate livelihood, to receive constitutional protection. The article then problematizes these characterizations and suggests that the simplest and broadest characterization, that is, of a right to fish without restriction as to purpose or use of fish, best coincides with the goals of effective management and fair distribution.

Keywords: Fisheries, Indigenous people, Aboriginal and treaty rights, Canada

Suggested Citation

Harris, Douglas C. and Millerd, Peter, Food Fish, Commercial Fish, and Fish to Support a Moderate Livelihood: Characterizing Aboriginal and Treaty Rights to Canadian Fisheries (January 6, 2010). Arctic Review on Law and Politics, Vol. 1, pp. 82-107, 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1594272

Douglas C. Harris (Contact Author)

Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia ( email )

1822 East Mall
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T1Z1
Canada

Peter Millerd

Independent ( email )

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