New Brunswick bishops back Burnt Church natives.

St. John--Senior Catholic prelates of New Brunswick have spoken out strongly in solidarity with the native people in their fight for fishing rights, with emphasis on the current situation at Burnt Church. The bishops ask for continued negotiation among all the parties involved, saying that the dialogue "has to recognize the Legitimate aims and aspirations of First Nation people in regard to their fishing rights". That seems to be begging the question because these "aspirations" appear to include the right to fish year round, without limits.

Bishop Faber MacDonald of St. John, NB, parallels the Burnt Church situation with abuses towards natives again, like Newfoundland's Archbishop, going back 500 years. His claims are backed by the Aboriginal Rights Coalition (ARC), a group of churches which includes the Catholic Church in Canada.

Comment:

Lawyers representing the Catholic Church are in the midst of preparing legal arguments against charges of abuses to natives. Archbishop MacDonald's apology for 500 years of wrongdoing seems inappropriate at this time.

With respect to Burnt Church, it is noted That ARC has trained observers to witness confrontation between the natives and the federal government, and to support native fishing rights while being committed to observing "objectively." This seems to be a contradiction. The observers claim that the Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) employees have "not proven they are reliable in their presentation of events and behaviour," although they (ARC) have had limited interaction with them (DFO). ARC seems hardly an objective body and its aims should be viewed and responded to within the larger framework of legitimate native aspirations.