Interesting post Ben and more than a bit unsettling!
I will be sending off some emails to our elected representaives this morning to try and find out more information.
But what could be the logic behind this bill itself!
It never ceases to amaze me in regards to what those we elect are capable of when we are not looking!

Ben, I assume you meant to say 'non natives' instead of 'non whites'
In any case, preventing ANYONE from fishing the Fraser when the appropriate season is open is discrimination. Don't we have something in the charter of rights that prohibits discrimination? Or are status Indians exempt from the charter of rights and freedoms? What have the do gooders to say about Indian fishing? Will they condone that while trying to outlaw hunting and fishing by 'non natives'?
What a screwed up world we live in.
ONE COUNTRY, ONE PEOPLE, ONE LAW>
metalman.

I just fired off a couple of emails to Nathan Cullen and John Rustad regarding this issue and the reasoning behind it.
I will also be contacting other elected representatives as well,to see what they know or may not know about this bill,as the case may be.
And, if any of them DO NOT know much about it,they damn well should!
My biggest concern, aside from the implications of overall issue itself,is why it is appearing before the house with little or no consultation with the people of B.C.?
Were the commercial fishermen of the lower consulted?
Does the provincial government actually support the passing of Bill 34?
The lack of dialogue with all people of this province by both the federal and provincial governments on this and other issues,is a disgrace!
Obviously there has been a dialogue with the first nations involved in order for Bill 34 to have even been proposed.
So what are the rest of us here in B.C.?
Chopped Liver?
Do we not have the right to be consulted on matters of this importance, or is it only first nations opinions that matter?

Sorry,that should read "fishermen of the lower Fraser".

Not really relevant who gets to fish the river because soon there won't be any fish to catch.

You folks had better wake up real fast and smell the coffee because you're still horribly behind regarding reality on Earth:

Humanity is insane and with that insanity we're killing the planet Earth.

http://www.unac.org/rights/actguide/canada.html

Metalman: "Or are status Indians exempt from the charter of rights and freedoms?"

Apparently they are since they refused to sign on to it for the last 30 years.

"ONE COUNTRY, ONE PEOPLE, ONE LAW"

A goal worthwhile to pursue. In the meantime it is a race based system, unfortunately.

Kevin1006: "Humanity is insane and with that insanity we're killing the planet Earth."

*Insane* means *not sane, not well.* If that is what you are saying I must agree - humanity is more *unwell* than it has ever been before and since there are close to 7 Billion of us now the un-wellness is beginning to spread itself everywhere at an ever increasing pace.

Polluted air, water, soil, food, ethics, morals...

I am awake and I am smelling the coffee so what can I do in addition to what I am already doing in respect to environment, recycling, promoting peace instead of war...and so forth?

Any suggestions?

diplomat: thank you for not attacking me! So used to abuse after my posts I'm shocked when I get one like yours.

Very much mean the literal meaning of insane.. humans are very, very sick right now. How could anyone dispute this statement? This is one of the indicators of insanity: despite all the evidence to the contrary a person still believes that which is not true.

First, as I go on and on about in this blog, we humans must stop the worship of money. We are treating the stuff like it is to be served just like you would expect the real God would be served, with all effort and thought and service being directed toward it and for it. There is never any consideration toward any other value before the wants of the money God are served first. This worship is global now and as I've said before the worship of money is the first truly global religion in human history. But this god that is being worshipped is a god not of life, but of death. It demands death at every turn, kind of like the Aztec's which demanded the spilling of blood to feed their God, money demands a constant stream of death.

For instance right here in our area this God of money demands that we mow our forests to the ground like a lawn. Why? Because clear cutting is the fastest way to make money, to hell with every other consideration regarding the forest, such as wildlife, clean water, etc. The first and only thought by and large is how to get as much cash out of the forest as possible. This is money worship.

In reply to your inquiry the only hope as I see it is to change the culture away from this God of money. Start demanding that every social policy puts money not at the top of the agenda but at the bottom. The health of our planet must come first every single time and as a result human health will come first right along side it. What is good for the planet is good for humanity because we are far more a part of nature than we are dead little pieces of paper.

That's the short answer.

Just try and stop ME from fishing in any river in the country or province in which I was born and raised and have paid taxes for.
JUST TRY AND STOP ME.
Either it is closed for every human or it is open for every human.
Great way to start a war if they think they can ram this BS down our throats.

Can someone please post the email addresses for our m.l.a.s and m.p.s?
I looked at the charter, under section 15, subsection (1), JOY! It clearly states that we are all equal.
NO joy; subsection (2) states that subsection (1) "shall not preclude"........
essentially saying that special interest groups (Indians) can over ride the pronouncement that we are all equal. So we really do not have a leg to stand on.
Is the only avenue (save expensive legal challenges) to protest then? Most of us (I presume) who are against these sorts of injustices are too busy earning a living and raising a family to spend much time attending protest rallies. And I whole heartedly agree with what kev1006 says about the love of money and that our society, our world is "not sane"
metalman.

Metalman...I sent out a whack of emails this morning.Just type in the politicans name(I used Google)and the email addresses are all on there.
As yet I have had no replies from any of them.
Guess they are all busy...or something...
And actually while kevin1006 does have point,it really isn't the general population that is half as crazy as those we elect.
They are the ones who seem to think that it is ok to decide these issues without any consultation with those of us who pay their inflated salaries!
It is long past the time they had a tune-up!

Andyfreeze, those who got themselves elected are a lot smarter then we are: a) they are *in* and we are *out* b) they rule us c) they know how gutless we are when it comes to using perfectly legal recall to remove them d) they collect the high salaries and pensions e) they know that the pendulum swings always from one extreme to the other in what is basically a two party system and we have to always choose the lesser evil f) at election time they rely on us to have suffer from the ever present malady of voter amnesia.

It works like a charm.

Can't argue with that diplomat!
A very sad truth that I don't see changing anytime soon, but I do think that there are a lot more pissed off people around now than I have seen in a long!

The most sensible thing I've seen posted in a while.

"ONE COUNTRY, ONE PEOPLE, ONE LAW"

-

I think the whole idea of Indians being allowed to use nets on the river, while I can't use a fishing rod is ludicrous. The politicians that support this should be recalled from office as an official sanction for their betrayal to their constituents and country.

When thousands of fish are wasted each year from net fishing killing off many more thousands of potential off spring... then why isn't net fishing illegal? A guy using a hook is not the problem.

The reason why they try to sneak this in the back door is because they are conscious of the fact that it goes against all ethics that involve equality rights as well as the fact they are stealing a right from one to give to another.

Lately, every time I examine a package of frozen wild pacific salmon fillets it says: Product of China.

I refrain from buying it. a) is it really *wild* salmon? b) has it been washed properly before packaging? c) has it been treated with some toxic exotic preservatives to enhance its appearance and which may be illegal here? d) why pay a premium for *wild* salmon when neither the origin nor sanitary handling can be verified?

Daily there are horror stories about tainted foodstuffs, toys and medicines which are imported from countries with little or no quality control.

Isn't it pathetic that we have a supply of fresh healthy wild salmon in our own Pacific waters and that soon it may be available only to a very few specially selected consumers and the rest (the majority) will have to be happy with the stuff that has been shipped in from another continent???

Yesterday I sent off some emails regarding Bill 34 and fishing rights on the Fraser River.
I only received one(1)reply, and that was from John Rustad.
I am still waiting to hear from the rest of them, but that is of no suprise.
Mr.Rustad briefly mentioned that his federal counterparts did not alway share information with those in the provincial government, and he didn't seem to know much about the issue.
Fair enough,and I understand that it is not John's riding,but I refuse to beieve that the provincial government knows nothing or little about this?
This is about the control of fishing rights n a major salmon producing river in British Columbia and all that that implies!!
The provincial government in general,the Ministry of Enviroment,Fisheries,Fish and Wildlife,etc.etc.absolutely HAS to know all about it, and just how this bill came to be!
What is behind it?
What is discouraging is the the people of British Columbia don't know.
Why is that?
At what point did the federal and provincial governments plan on telling us?
After the bill has been passed in the house giving all control of fishing rights to a couple of First Nations bands?
Are they unaware of the precedent this will set?
Gordon Campbell claims to know all and see all...did HE not know about it?
Is it right to ignore the needs and rights of so many to simply satisfy the needs of a few?
What was the logic behind this bill?
Somebody has some explaining to do,particularly lower maniland politicians!
Something stinks here,bigtime!

Andyfreeze
Why do you think fishfarms on our coast are not being shut down even with all the scientific proof that they are killing our wild salmon stocks just as they have done in other countries around the world.
Our governments are sick and tired of the battle between commercial, native and sportfisherman over who gets to fish and when.
Once all the wild stocks have disappeared our governments can move onto bigger and better things such as Olympics, war, tax increases, and speeding tickets.
They think that if they give everything away to the native bands in our province that the bands will not disturb things during the olympics etc, etc, etc.

Anybody ready to jump on the civil disobedience bandwagon yet?
Not yet? Ok, we will just let them screw you over for a little while longer and I will ask you all again later.
The way things are going I suspect it won't be long before I will be asking this question again.

Have a nice weekend, unless you have to drive somewhere.