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| No change to harvesting agreement |
No change to harvesting agreement despite MLA Committee Report
The Interim Metis Harvesting Agreement is not affected by the release of a report from the Alberta government’s MLA Committee looking into Metis harvesting issues. The agreement remains in effect, as it exists, until the final agreement is negotiated and signed.
During a news conference at the Alberta Legislature, Justice Minister Justice Ron Stevens described the MLA Committee report findings as “guidelines”. In his opening remarks to the media, Minister Stevens said, “The Alberta government accepts this report and the recommendations and we will resume negotiations on a new agreement in the upcoming months.”
Metis Nation of Alberta President Audrey Poitras said, ““While we do not agree with and do not accept some of the recommendations from the MLA Report, we welcome the Alberta Government’s willingness to engage in renewed negotiations with us in order to arrive at a Final Métis Harvesting Agreement for Alberta Métis,”
The MLA committee was comprised of Bonnyville/ Cold Lake MLA Denis Ducharme as the chairperson, Calgary/ Nosehill MLA Neil Brown, and Peace River MLA Frank Oberle, the only committee member at the press conference. The committee was formed more than a year ago in response to a negative letter writing campaign launched by non-Metis hunting interest groups. Using fear-mongering tactics such as exaggerated numbers of Metis hunters, their goal was to pressure the Alberta government into revoking the harvesting agreement citing conservation concerns.
“I want to highlight that the MLA Report did not substantiate any of the Métis harvesting ‘horror stories’ that have been perpetuated by some groups in Alberta over the last two years. There are simply no facts to support these stories,” said Poitras.
When asked by reporters if there was any documented evidence of abuse of the harvesting agreement, Peace River MLA Frank Oberle said, “Not that we were made aware of. We heard some anecdotal evidence but we saw no documented evidence. There’s rumour of fish declines, we saw no documented evidence of that at all.”
The Minister of Justice agrees, “There were some stories that were told but not proved and my understanding from SRD is that they don’t have any evidence to indicate there was an abuse of the agreement.”
In its report, the MLA Committee made recommendations based on what it heard from the non-Metis hunting interest groups, the Siksika First Nation, and the Blood Tribe. Besides being listed as a participant in the process, the report does not indicate that all the claims made against Metis harvesting rights by non-Metis interest groups were refuted successfully during a presentation made by MNA President Poitras in July 2005. Instead, the report focuses on what was said by groups objecting to Metis harvesting rights being honoured in Alberta.
In a statement to the media President Poitras said, “It must be remembered that the MLA Report only captures a specific period in time and does not reflect activities undertaken by the MNA on our own accord. For example, we are currently in the process of consulting our people on our own MNA Harvesting Policy with a view to having a Policy in place for the fall harvest. That’s in response to what our people are saying. This Policy will include a Métis harvester identification system as well as a means of collecting information on the Métis harvest. Of course, this Métis self-regulation initiative will need to be prominently factored into the upcoming negotiations and resulting Final Agreement.”
The Minister of Justice reiterated that when negotiating the final agreement with the MNA, the report will be referred to for ‘guidelines’.
President Poitras added, ““We are also encouraged by the Alberta Government’s commitment that the MLA Report’s recommendations will not be unilaterally implemented and that the issues raised in the recommendations will be addressed within our negotiations. The MNA remains committed to entering into good faith negotiations in order to ensure Métis harvesting rights are recognized and respected in this province.”
By Patricia Russell |
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