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 ANOTHER WIN FOR MÉTIS RIGHTS!
SASKATCHEWAN COURT AFFIRMS MÉTIS RIGHT TO HARVEST REJECTS SASKATCHEWAN’S NARROW INTERPRETATION OF MÉTIS RIGHTS
OTTAWA (July 18, 2005) --- Yet another provincial Court has affirmed that Métis have constitutionally protected harvesting rights that must be recognized and respected by governments. The case, R. v. Laviolette, was handed down on July 15th, 2005 by Judge Earl Kalenith of the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan. In his decision, Judge Kalenith found that Mr. Laviolette, a citizen of the Métis Nation living in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, has a Métis right to fish for food. Judge Kalenith acquitted Mr. Laviolette of fishing in a closed season by virtue of s. 13(1) of The Fisheries Regulations of Saskatchewan being inapplicable to him as a Métis rights-bearer. A copy of the decision and a summary is available at www.metisnation.ca.
One of the central issues in the Laviolette case was addressing what is a “Métis community”. The Crown took the position that the Métis community equated to a fixed settlement and that harvesting rights were limited to the area immediately surrounding that settlement. The Crown also took the position that Métis harvesting rights were only exercisable in the Northern Administration District (NAD). The essence of the Crown’s argument was that only Métis who were ancestrally connected to a historic Métis settlement within the NAD, and who continued to live in that settlement, could exercise Métis harvesting rights. Mr. Laviolette is ancestrally connected to Green Lake, but lives in Meadow Lake (approximately 55 kilometers southwest of Green Lake and outside the NAD). He was fishing in Green Lake the day he was charged.
Judge Kalenith disagreed with the Crown’s limited interpretation of Métis harvesting rights especially when applied to the Métis who he recognized as a “highly mobile people”. The Court found that there has always been a Métis community in Northwest Saskatchewan and that they “moved often and traveled far and wide for food, trapping and work. They moved frequently between the fixed settlements and between the settlements within a given region.”
In arriving at his judgment, Judge Kalenith applied the Supreme Court of Canada’s test set out in R. v. Powley. He found that there is a Métis community in Northwest Saskatchewan. He found that there is a Métis right to harvest for food throughout Northwest Saskatchewan and that Ron Laviolette, as a member of the Métis community has a right to exercise his harvesting rights in that area.
Another important finding in the decision was the Court’s acknowledgement that even though Mr. Laviolette had not continually resided in Northwest Saskatchewan for his entire life, he was still a rights-bearing member of the Northwest Saskatchewan Métis Community. Mr. Laviolette was born in Northwest Saskatchewan, grew up on the Kikino Métis Settlement in Alberta and lived in various other locations for work. Even though Mr. Laviolette had remained away from Northwest Saskatchewan for periods of time, it did not negate his rights as member of the Northwest Saskatchewan Métis Community.
Judge Kalenith also rejected the Crown’s argument that Mr. Laviolette had to prove “something more” (i.e. his ability to jig, sing Métis music, fiddle, etc.) in order to meet the community acceptance test set out in Powley. The Court found, “I am satisfied that Mr. Laviolette’s involvement in hunting and fishing for food show his involvement in Métis cultural activities sufficient to meet the test in Powley.”
Mr. Laviolette’s Métis legal team included Clément Chartier, Q.C., Jean Teillet and Jason Madden. Clément Chartier, lead counsel for Mr. Laviolette and President of the Métis National Council stated, “it is hoped that, as a result of this new ruling, Saskatchewan Environment, which is responsible for the current flawed and unconstitutional policy vis-à-vis Métis harvesting, will re-examine its limited interpretations and begin to work with the Métis Nation - Saskatchewan in order to respect this decision and the harvesting rights of all Métis people in the province”.
The Métis National Council represents the Métis Nation within Canada at the national and international levels.
For more information:
Robert MacDonald
Director of Public and Media Relations
Cell: (613) 295-9298
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