Lady Justice on the missing list

What's that line again - justice is blind?

She sure wasn't in Labrador last week.

Lady Justice, that statue we often see in or outside our courthouses, is usually shown wearing a blindfold and carrying a sword. This is supposed to show that justice is dealt out objectively, "without fear or favour, regardless of identity, money, power, or weakness."

So where was the good lady while a bunch of Quebec Innu slaughtered hundreds of caribou in a closed hunting zone? Her representatives, the Department of Natural Resources, were watching and, hopefully, recording the slaughter for use in a future prosecution.

But why wasn't this clearly illegal hunt stopped dead in its tracks? Why sit idly by while a bunch of hunters, who knew they were in a closed zone, ignored the law? Would the same have happened if a bunch of white, black or Asian hunters went out and did the same thing?

Of course not.

It's easy to understand why DNR didn't intervene from a logistical standpoint. They simply don't have the manpower to stop 100-150 armed hunters without running the risk of a confrontation escalating into a deadly confrontation. Also, a standoff between DNR and Labrador Innu hunters near Happy Valley-Goose Bay around the turn of the year ended with the provincial government basically pulling the rug from under their officers' feet. Two officers were disciplined for not returning an Innu hunter's truck immediately, even though the Innu involved admitted they were hunting in a closed zone and there are plenty of precedents for the confiscation of hunters' vehicles who are suspected of breaking the law. Why would the officers risk that happening again?

My question is this: where is the political muscle? Why didn't Natural Resources Minister Kathy Dunderdale or Justice Minister Felix Collins demand an immediate stop to the hunt and announce that every single person involved in the hunt would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law? The strongest piece of language I could find was this, in a news release from Dunderdale and Collins: "Evidence will be collected and charges laid, where warranted and when safe to do so, in the event of illegal activities."

The last time I checked, it is illegal to hunt in a closed zone. So what gives?

The only answer, apparently, is the province is afraid to get tangled up in this mess. The Quebec Innu were, as you all know, protesting the recent signing of the New Dawn agreement, which gives legal weight to a deal between the Labrador Innu and the province and paves the way for the development of the Lower Churchill hydro project.

It's clear there are many issues at play here: a battle for Lower Churchill compensation and the issue of aboriginal hunting rights are just two of them.

But as complicated as this issue might be, it does all boil down to one point: justice. Canada has a set of laws that (theoretically, at least) apply to everyone. If the Quebec Innu are upset about New Dawn, there are legal ways to protest. They know this and apparently intend to challenge New Dawn in court. But still they decided to embark on this unlawful hunt.

Last week's hunt was a disgrace, and the Quebec Innu should be ashamed of themselves. They cannot have it both ways. They must accept the laws of the land and obey them like anyone else. They cannot use their heritage as an excuse to disregard the law whenever it suits them, all the while expecting everyone to respect their right as the traditional owners and stewards of the land.

Guest editorial by Andrew Waugh, former editor of the Labradorian ,who writes from Nova Scotia.