Morning Brief: WE scandal and lobster-harvest violence to dominate the week’s agenda – iPolitics
Oct 19, 2020
Good morning.
The RCMP stepped up its presence in Nova Scotia over the weekend in a bid to stop escalating violence over a First Nations lobster harvest. But Sipekne’katik Chief Mike Sack said he wants the Canadian military called in, instead, the Globe reports. A First Nations lobster pound burned to the ground Saturday, sending a man to hospital with life-threatening injuries. CTV reports the man was not an employee and is a “person of interest” in the RCMP’s investigation. Hundreds rallied in support of the First Nations fishermen on Sunday in Halifax.
Parliament is poised to launch an emergency debate regarding last week’s “disturbing acts of violence” and the Mi’kmaq treaty right to fish for a “moderate livelihood.” Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil is now asking Ottawa to define what harvesting a “moderate livelihood” means, exactly.
Kady O’Malley has today’s political agenda in her iPolitics AM: “Both the Conservatives and the New Democrats are set to brief reporters on the latest WE-related developments during separate news conferences this later this morning. … As for Trudeau, he’ll be spending the day ensconced in ‘private meetings,’ according to his daily itinerary, which will include a huddle with his front-bench team.”
