Nova Scotia RCMP make another arrest in October 2020 fish plant fire

The Nova Scotia RCMP has charged another man with arson in relation to a fire that destroyed a fish plant in Middle West Pubnico last year.

The fish plant was being used by Mi’kmaw fishers when the fire took place late in the evening on Oct. 16, 2020.

The blaze occurred two days after a confrontation at the plant when about 200 non-Indigenous fishers and their supporters converged on the building, which was storing lobster caught by Sipekne’katik First Nation.

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The band’s fishery had captured national attention in September 2020 when its fishers started setting lobster traps in St. Marys Bay before the start of the federally regulated fishing season.

In a release Thursday, the RCMP said 29-year-old Sean Roy Messenger of Shelburne County was arrested Wednesday and charged with arson.

He will appear in Yarmouth Provincial Court on Nov. 29.

Police also arrested another man, 24-year-old Brendon Douglas James Porter in relation to the fire on July 16.

6:00 Chief Mike Sack on Global News Morning