Acadian activist who fought expropriation of land for Kouchibouguac has died
Acadian activist Jackie Vautour, known for his fight against the expropriation of land for Kouchibouguac National Park, has died.
The 92-year-old had liver cancer and pneumonia and had been hospitalized since Thursday, confirmed his son, Edmond Vautour.
He said he had been able to speak to his father in recent days.
"He told me that he did all he could for the expropriated families and he wants them to continue the battle," Edmond Vautour told Radio-Canada. "He is proud of what he has been able to accomplish."
Vautour went to his father's camp on Sunday and broke down. He said he "cried and cried and cried" because the place spoke to him about all the suffering his father has experienced over the years.
He said he's sad his father wasn't able to see "the saga" resolved. He vowed to continue his father's court battle to get the families' land back and said he will try to get it to the Supreme Court.
"I'm going to try to be heard," he told Radio-Canada.
He described his father as "a fighter, he's a hero, he loves the people, he always believed in justice and the rights of the people."
In his "last few words," Jackie Vautour said he did the best he could for the people who lost their land in the expropriation.
"I told him, 'You did more than anybody else could do," said Edmond Vautour.
Acadian Society president Alexandre Cédric Doucet says Acadians have lost one of their great symbolic figures of the 1960s protest movement.
On Twitter, he said Vautour's fight will "remain forever in our memories."
Vautour was known for his decades-long fight against the expropriation of land from 1,200 families to create Kouchibouguac National Park. From 1969 to 1971, the province expropriated land from residents and transferred it to the federal government for the park.
Vautour also fought for the right to hunt and fish in the park because of his Indigenous ancestry.
Appeal dismissed
Late last month, New Brunswick's Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Vautour, filed in 2017 on behalf of more than 100 people claiming to be Métis Acadian Mi'kmaq whose land was taken.
The federal and provincial government argued the case was an attempt to relitigate something already decided by courts as high as the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Court of Queen's Bench agreed and dismissed the case last year. That prompted Vautour to appeal. The case was heard by a three-judge panel in October.
The decision issued on Jan. 28 agreed with the federal and provincial governments, concluding Vautour's case was an abuse of process.
Vautour was ordered to pay the province $5,000 for costs related to the case.
Vautour unsuccessfully argued in a previous case that as a Métis person, he had the right to fish for food in the area of Kouchibouguac. The appeal court ruled against him in that case, and the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear the case, upholding the appeal court decision.
