A hand-painted sign marks the property claimed by Acadian descendant, Jackie Vautour, within Kouchibouguac National Park and warns against trespassing by government employees. |
Recent cases of government-sponsored property rights abuses,
such as that of Ontario farmer Frank Meyers, have garnered some national media
attention, and sparked public outcry. But growing awareness of and opposition
to the issue of expropriation has done little to curb its practice, or even to
protect individual property owners against these instances of government
aggression.
Government abuse of, and total disregard for property rights
is by no means a new trend in North America, and has been occurring since the
continent was first settled by Europeans. The expulsion of the Acadians, or the
first Acadian deportation occurred in the mid-seventeen hundreds, when the
French-speaking inhabitants (Acadians) of what is now the Canadian Maritimes
and northern New England were forcibly relocated by the British Imperialists throughout the American
colonies, with some deported to France.
The Acadians, a largely ungoverned people since their
settling of the continent in the early 1600s, were victims of the imperial
battle between the British and French governments for the North American
continent.
A contemporary case of expropriation with startling echoes
of the Acadian expulsion, sometimes referred to as the second Acadian
deportation, has recently come to my attention. In the late 1960s, the Canadian and New
Brunswick governments began an expropriation campaign to make way for Kouchibouguac
National Park. The expropriation would account for the displacement of about
250 families, largely farmers and fishermen, and mostly of Acadian descent.
Despite early resistance from those families whose property
was being expropriated, most eventually took the $5000-$7000 offered by the
government for their land, and reluctantly accepted the reality of relocation. Many
even accepted employment with Parks Canada at the newly established national
park.
One man and his family, however, refused to surrender their
home and livelihood (the expropriation also entailed surrender of fishing
rights) to the government.
Painting of the Vautour home being demolished. By Rocky Vautour (Jackie's son) |
Jackie Vautour and his wife have remained at the site of
their original home to this day. Over the course of several decades, the
Vautours have lived in tents and other makeshift shelters. However, with little
money, and their livelihood constantly threatened by the government (the
Vautours have been arrested on several occasions for illegally fishing), their
living environment has deteriorated in recent years.
Jackie Vautour and his wife, Yvonne. |
Jackie Vautour is a largely unsung hero, who has confidently
and consistently asserted his right to his property. How successful might
government expropriation campaigns continue to be if more property owners
refused to surrender, not only by demanding their rights be respected by
governments in courtrooms, but by exercising their property ownership in a very
real way, by occupying and using their land in spite of an arbitrary legal
framework that tells them they don’t own it?
For more information about the Vautour family's fundraising campaign, visit their Facebook page.
Click here to donate to the campaign.
Learn more about the second Acadian deportation, the Kouchibouguac expropriations, at www.returningthevoices.ca .
For more information about the Vautour family's fundraising campaign, visit their Facebook page.
Click here to donate to the campaign.
Learn more about the second Acadian deportation, the Kouchibouguac expropriations, at www.returningthevoices.ca .