Been numerous postings on this thread by individuals describing their perceptions of the legal system as being race-based & their fears over that. That narrative is an unsubstantiated and erroneous description of the legal system.
1st off - not posting in any attempt to defend illegal fishing or harvesting "at-risk" weak runs - just wish to clear-up how harvesting rights are legally generated so that unsupported assumptions and perceptions aren't spun out of control into mass hysteria.
2ndly - these aboriginal rights aren't generated on "race". It starts with the rights conferred & affirmed by s.35 of the Constitution Act (1982) (
i.e. The existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed) - the main Act that the rest of the laws of Canada are based on - that we are all subject to. The exact details of how these rights are assessed & confirmed by the Colonial Governments (verses hereditary laws) is defined in numerous court cases (i.e. "case law") - generally starting with Sparrow (1986) and onwards. These legal benchmarks to confirm the claim of aboriginal title and rights include things like a history of exclusive use and occupation, governance mechanisms and the like - but not "race". You can reference these legal decisions and rationale using this weblink:
https://www.canlii.org/en/#search/jId=bc&text=claim of aboriginal title and rights Aboriginal or treaty right to harvest
3rdly - Where "race" comes into the mix is the intersection of the imposed Indian Act (1876 rev. 1985) where race is defined for whom is a "
Status Indian", and for the authority of the imposed Band Councils (verses hereditary systems & laws) & the federal programs they are responsible for. The Act itself can be found at:
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-5/
Where the history can be found at:
https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/movementtowardsreconciliation/chapter/the-indian-act-1876/
It is safe to say that "Indians" (Columbus got lost - thought he was in India) had no say in this Act since they weren't allowed to hire lawyers before 1951, and not allowed to vote until 1960 - or even allowed to freely leave the reserves after 1885 and up until 1995 (
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/pass-system-in-canada).
I believe many Canadians are ignorant of this history and of the Canadian legal system. With the easy access to the WWW it should be easy to educate ourselves on these topics before we get emotional about misconceptions and wrong information - and I am grateful for this forum in providing a forum where our collective intelligence can be shared - and those who wish to educate themselves have that opportunity, privilege, & responsibility.