Brent’s Answer:
There has only been one significant enforcement issue. The offence was the illegal harvesting of an elk. Because the poacher was a person of some significance, the Nation wanted to proceed under its own laws, however, because the Nation did not have its own enforcement officers, the investigation was carried out by an external enforcement agency which failed to recognize the limitation period for laying charges under Maa-nulth law. The limitation period was missed, so in the end, charges were laid under Provincial law and the poacher plead guilty. The community, through its elders’ advisory committee, took other steps internally, outside of its own statutory framework, to also address the issue. The Maa-nulth law has since been amended to provide for a longer and more flexible limitation period for laying charges once an offence is discovered. This longer period allows more time for a proper investigation and decisions to be made by the Nation regarding whether or not to proceed with a prosecution under its own laws.