Five aboriginals guilty of illegal fishing

Five aboriginals guilty of illegal fishing

The Canadian Press
September 19, 2007

Kamloops — Five members of a native band who claimed they had an aboriginal right to fish have been found guilty of illegal fishing.

Provincial Court Judge Bill Blair has ruled the group didn’t have an aboriginal right to fish for sockeye salmon along the Fraser River near Lillooet, B.C.

Florence and Barret Deneault, Dorothy Grant, Adeline Willard and Kristopher Young were charged under the Fisheries Act when they were caught in 2001 fishing without a licence.

Their lawyer argued in court that they had the right to fish because they are members of the High Bar First Nation and were fishing within the band’s territorial boundary.

The group will be back in court next month for sentencing.