OTTAWA--"The Government of Nova Scotia abandoned its fishermen when the Marshall appeal was heard in the Supreme Court. It must not abandon them again when the Federal Court considers the future of the lobster fishery on September 7, 2000," said John Cummins, M.P. (Delta-South Richmond).

Mi'kmaq from the Indian Brook band will be in Federal Court to obtain a temporary injunction to prevent the seizure of their equipment in St. Mary's Bay. If granted, the injunction would consign the Department of Fisheries to the sidelines in the regulation of the fishery, an industry that has been the backbone of south-west Nova Scotia communities for the past three centuries.

The decision by the Federal Court will be crucial to the future of the immediate and long term interests of the Province of Nova Scotia. An adverse decision would cripple local economies, undermining the income of fishermen, shore-workers, gear suppliers and boat builders, destroying the economic and social fabric of their communities.

The Province has shown more interest in the future of trees in Halifax's Point Pleasant Park than it has shown in its fishermen. It has been happy to leave their future in the hands of the federal Minister of Fisheries, Herb Dhaliwal, who has been engaged in a foolish and ill-advised native fisheries policy.

In the Marshall case, only New Brunswick bothered to be present in the Supreme Court and then only to protect its trees. Surely its time for the Governments of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia to stand behind their fishermen.

The Federal Court needs to hear about the impact of native demands on fishing communities if it is to make a balanced decision. Native interests will be funded by the federal government. Fishermen have been left to fend for themselves.