Attorney General of Canada drops charges against Micmac Fisherman.
CAMPBELLTON, NB – A total of eight charges of violating the provisions of the Fisheries Act against Micmac fisherman Cody Caplin were dropped by the Attorney General of Canada on February 15th, 2024.
Prosecutor Denis Lavoie told Judge LeBlanc that “the Attorney General of Canada will enter a stay of proceeding pursuant to Section 579(1) of the Criminal Code. The reason for that is the unexpected leave of the lawyer that was supposed to do the case will most likely result in extended additional delays. With the delays that have already happened in this case, the Crown feels that it would be in the public interest to do so.” The case against Mr. Caplin who was fishing in order to feed his family, has been before the courts since he was charged on Sept. 12, 2018.
The Crown stayed the charges after former National Chief Delbert Riley began representing Mr. Caplin in arguing his constitutional challenge to the Fisheries Act. On October 12th, 2023 Chief Riley successfully defended against a motion from the Crown to summarily dismiss Mr. Caplin’s challenge as “manifestly frivolous, and of being of little import.”
Judge Leblanc ruled that the “the case is not frivolous, and is not a waste of the court’s time” and the court continued on November 30th, 2023. The Court heard opening statements by Cody Caplin and Chief Riley, followed by the testimony of Micmac elder Albert Marshall Sr. who also spoke at a community meeting in Eel River Bar First Nation the same night.
After hearing the Aboriginal and Treaty rights arguments, the Crown, now led by prosecutor Mark Stares, objected that it needed more time to prepare for forthcoming defence witnesses and the planned court dates in December were cancelled.
A story about Cody’s case in the Canadian Press then went viral and was picked up in over 138 different news outlets across Canada. Following the media coverage, the Crown cancelled the planned January and February court dates before the Attorney General decided to drop the case on February 15th.
At the February 15th court hearing, Prosecutor Denis Lavoie, who has long specialized in opposing Micmac fishing rights announced that “it’s my last court appearance, I’m retiring tomorrow morning.”
In concluding the case, Judge Leblanc asked Mr. Caplin to pass on a message to Chief Riley that “I appreciated his help in this file and his testimony. He is a knowledgeable person to have as a reference. I note his devotion to the law and to his people.”