Alberta’s Court of Queens Bench will hear an appeal filed by the Metis Nation of Alberta in the Provincial Court ruling made against Metis trapper Kipp Kelley. Kelley was fined $25 for trapping without a license. The appeal will be heard in mid-September in an Edmonton courtroom with MNA General Counsel Jason Madden representing Mr. Kelley.

Madden says the appeal by the MNA is based on errors and inconsistencies in Provincial Court Judge Donald Norheim’s written decision. For example, Judge Norheim found that Mr. Kelley is Métis, has a long family history for living off the land in the Hinton area and that trapping is integral to Mr. Kelley’s Métis culture. However, Judge Norheim went on to convict Mr. Kelley for trapping without a license.

In addition, Judge Norheim found that the Interim Métis Harvesting Agreement (IMHA) signed between the MNA and the Alberta Government in October 2004 provides that “Métis can hunt, trap, or fish in accordance with this agreement.” Yet, he questioned the legality of the IMHA between the Métis Nation of Alberta and the Alberta government, resulting in Mr. Kelley’s conviction.

Consistent with the decision from the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Powley, the Metis Nation of Alberta and the Alberta government negotiated and signed the Interim Metis Harvesting Agreement in October 2004 as an interim means of accommodating Metis subsistence harvesting in this province.

Metis Nation of Alberta President Audrey Poitras stated, “This ruling is inconsistent with the directions courts have been giving governments and Aboriginal peoples and that is to negotiate mutually agreeable accommodation agreements rather than resorting to the courts to resolve disputes. The Supreme Court has been saying this for decades. That’s exactly what we did in this province.”

President Poitras added, “If Judge Norheim’s decision was not appealed it would put us on a path towards being back in the courts constantly, which will be at a huge expense to the Métis people and Alberta taxpayers. That’s not what the Metis Nation of Alberta wants so we will appeal the judgment to avoid being forced down that path.”

The Metis Nation of Alberta will continue to stand behind its Metis harvesters and directs them to continue to hunt, fish, and trap, in accordance with the IMHA, and in a manner that is consistent with traditional Métis harvesting practices and conservation values.