The Migmaw, like everyone else, are struggling with finding mechanisms to enforce their laws. They are relying on their Section 35 constitutional right to fish and the inherent right make laws, but these will not be enforced by the police.
This is a very complex question. The province and federal governments can enforce their laws because they have courts, police and prosecutors. This all takes money.
K’ómoks has been taking all the right steps to try and get Canada to do its job and take on the enforcement of First Nation laws (including giving the mandate to RCMP to enforce, and crown prosecutors to prosecute). Many letters and meetings with the higher ups in Canada have taken place, but the issue remains stuck in Ottawa right now.
We are also trying to work under K’ómoks laws passed under the Land Code. This has been costly because our laws are not considered as “enactments” under provincial law, and enforcement agencies are only bound to enforce “enactments”.
We are working with Canada and British Columbia under treaty to ensure we have the right enforcement tools in place and to ensure that their laws don’t serve as a bar to enforcing our laws. Rather we are working with the to facilitate the enforcement of K’ómoks laws, once there is a treaty.