N.S. still failing to consult on law blocking protests on Crown land: Mi’kmaq leaders

Protesters maintain a Mi'kmaq encampment near the Shubenacadie River, a 72-kilometre tidal river that cuts through the middle of Nova Scotia and flows into the Bay of Fundy, in Fort Ellis, N.S. on Tuesday, July 31, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

HALIFAX — A Mi’kmaq leader in Nova Scotia says the provincial government continues to ignore First Nations’ concerns on a new law they say targets their community’s ability to protect its territory.

The law was recently pushed through the legislature without advanced notice or consultation, said Twila Gaudet, the director of consultation for Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn, which works on behalf of the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs.

In a statement Tuesday, Gaudet said the law “appears to be targeting Mi’kmaw harvesters who are protesting the unsustainable forest management practices in the Cape Breton Highlands.”

Among other things, the law makes it illegal for protesters to block forest access roads on Crown land, and offenders could be fined up to $50,000 and imprisoned for up to six months. It also allows government to “demolish or otherwise dispose of” structures on Crown land if they pose a threat to the province’s economic interests.

“It takes aim at Charter-protected freedoms of peaceful assembly and expression, and at structures used by the Mi’kmaq when exercising our constitutionally protected Indigenous and treaty rights,” Gaudet said.

Minister of L’nu Affairs Leah Martin said she is having regular conversations with the assembly and other chiefs, but she notes that the law does not legally require formal consultation with Mi’kmaq leaders.

“That said, our relationship with the Mi’kmaq extends well beyond formal consultation. We value those conversations and remain committed to open, respectful dialogue on issues that matter most to Mi’kmaw communities,” Martin said in a statement Tuesday.

The government has said it introduced the law at the request of conservation officers and that it isn’t meant to stifle protests over logging, but to protect the safety of all people who travel and who work in the woods.

Gaudet said that to date “there has not been any consultation” with Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn on the law.

Martin, who is Indigenous and a member of Millbrook First Nation, said the province’s goal is to “build lasting relationships and solutions” that respect Mi’kmaq rights while ensuring Nova Scotia continues to grow and prosper.

“We may not always agree, but we’re committed to working with Mi’kmaw leadership to find practical solutions that benefit Mi’kmaw communities and all Nova Scotians,” Martin said.

On Oct. 3, the day the bill received royal assent, Sipekne’katik First Nation put out a statement calling for Martin’s resignation. “Minister Martin does not speak for Sipekne’katik, and she most certainly does not speak for the Mi’kmaq Nation,” Chief Michelle Glasgow said on the passing of the bill.

Glasgow says Crown lands are unceded Mi’kmaq territory, and the province has a constitutional duty to work with Mi’kmaq leadership on any activity that may affect their rights. It also says the law seeks to criminalize Mi’kmaq who are exercising their “rights to protect forests, waters and ecosystems from harmful and unsustainable logging practices.”

“Martin’s support for this legislation demonstrates a fundamental disregard for Mi’kmaq rights and a failure to uphold the province’s legal and moral obligations,” reads the statement from Sipekne’katik.

Gaudet said the law is the latest in a “growing list of bills that have been pushed through with no advance notice and with direct implications on our rights.” The bill was “passed mere days after the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Treaty Day, neither which Premier Houston attended,” Gaudet added.

The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs and representatives from Sipekne’katik First Nation have recently criticized this government’s failure to consult with them before they opened the province up to uranium exploration.

Rosalie Francis, a Mi’kmaq lawyer whose firm is based out of Sipekne’katik First Nation, said in June the province risks further damaging their relationship with Mi’kmaq communities, as well as sabotaging the potential uranium industry, by failing to consult adequately and early.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2025.

By Lyndsay Armstrong