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The One That Got Away?Canadian fishing laws leads to secession battle in Minnesota
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 19) -- Congress is being asked to consider allowing a small portion of Minnesota the opportunity to secede from the Union. The issue of contention is far from the quagmire of slavery that lead to Civil War in 1861. It is much simpler. Fish. Fishing is big business, the only business on the Northwest Angle, a tiny peninsula that's part of Minnesota but surrounded by Canada. So when the Canadian province of Ontario passed a new law saying Americans staying at Northwest Angle resorts can no longer keep fish they catch in the Ontario controlled waters of the Lake of the Woods, it meant disaster for the Angle's 100 residents. They took a vote, called their congressman and said they wanted to secede from the U.S. and become part of Canada. "Protect us or let us go," says Gary Dietzlera a resort owner. Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson has sought help from Ontario, the U.S. State Department, and Minnesota but no one would budge. So he has proposed a Constitutional amendment that would grant the residents the right to vote on whether they want to join Manitoba, which borders the Angle on the west. "The land would transfer from America to Canada, and then because it's Canadian land they would be Canadian resorts and these regulations wouldn't apply," says Peterson. Other disgruntled areas including Staten Island, Martha's Vineyard and New York City have considered switching states, but none have threatened to leave the country. Political scientists say this is a ripple compared to the wave of Southern secessions that led to the Civil War. "The South seceding from the U.S. had a lot bigger implications and was a moral issue. It's hard to get people very excited about fish. I don't even like fish, so I don't care very much if they leave," explains Kent Weaver of the Brookings Institution. But in the Northwest Angle kids even go fishing at recess. "Fishing is a very important deal in Minnesota, and it is, it's life or death. It's like the musket on the frontier, the automobile to the commuter. Worth seceding over? Absolutely," says Bill Frenzel,former Minnesota congressman. Most residents of the Northwest Angle would prefer to remain part of the U.S buy they would rather switch citizenship than lose their livelihoods. Some community members have not completely endorsed the idea of secession. "I hope we don't get a lot of bad publicity over it. I don't want people to think we're a bunch of nuts here, a bunch of militants," said Dale Prothero, who owns a general store. He worries a request for a vote on secession might provoke Congress. What if they decide "you guys are a pain in the hind end, anyway, so you better go." Peterson doesn't even mind campaigning to lose constituents from his 7th Congressional Districts. "Well, you know it won't make any difference to me. I'm just happy to try to help them. I mean, they deserve it. They're good people." And maybe someday, good Canadians. CNN's Kathleen Koch and The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
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Thursday March 19, 1998
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