EAST COAST CLAM SHENANIGANS

   One of the Trudeau government's signature acts of Indigenous reconciliation is being challenged in court, exposing the fierce competition between First Nations for a shellfish quota worth millions — and the jockeying by one of Canada's leading seafood companies to keep control of the fishery.
     Hundreds of pages of records filed in Federal Court offer new insight into the controversial decision in February to award 25 per cent of Canada's Arctic surf clam quota to Five Nations Clam Company, led by Elsipogtog First Nation of New Brunswick and its industry partner Premium Seafoods of Arichat, N.S.
    The bright red tongue-shaped seafood is exported to Asia for sushi, and the new First Nations quota — some 9,600 tonnes a year — is a prize worth tens of millions of dollars.