B.C. asks court to deny class action certification in fish farm dispute

Mark Hume
April 16, 2010
The Globe and Mail

The provincial government has asked the Supreme Court of British Columbia to deny a collection of aboriginal groups the right to launch a class action suit over the way fish farms are managed on the West Coast.

James Sullivan, a lawyer representing the B.C. government, urged the court to reject the certification application filed by Chief Robert Chamberlin on behalf of members of the Kwicksutaineuk/Ah-Kwa-Mish First Nations, saying a class action suit is the wrong tool to address the complaint.

Mr. Chamberlin alleges that the provincial and federal governments have so badly mismanaged fish farming in the Broughton Archipelago, off northeast Vancouver Island, that they have damaged the fishing and ceremonial practices of the native people there. The bands allege that sea lice epidemics have been caused by the salmon farms, leading to the decline of wild salmon stocks.

Mr. Chamberlin has said if certification under the Class Proceedings Act is granted, individual members of the first nation will be allowed to opt in or out before the proposed suit against the government proceeds.

Mr. Sullivan told Mr. Justice Harry Slade, however, that the question of fish-farm management and its impact on aboriginal rights is not a matter that should be dealt with by class action.

“I think everyone agrees it is a serious issue, but it’s not one where this is the only realistic forum to resolve it,” he said.

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