And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (S.I.S.I.S.) writes:
LANDMARK RULING GIVES METIS ABORIGINAL RIGHTS - STAGE SET FOR NEW FIGHTS
National Post, December 22, 1998 by Anne Marie Owens
[S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased
or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context.
It is provided for reference only.]
A landmark Ontario court ruling in Sault Ste. Marie yesterday recognized
that Metis, people of mixed Indian and European blood, have the same
hunting and fishing rights as aboriginals, a decision that could set the
stage for new battles over land claims, tax exemptions and even bids for
self-government.
Metis groups hailed the ruling, in which two Metis men were acquitted of
illegal hunting and possession of moose, as the first official declaration
of their rights in Ontario, and said the decision could be used to force
the government to the negotiating table on other issues.
"We now have the grounds to say to the government: 'We do exist and we do
have rights,' " said Tony Belcourt, president of the Metis Nation of
Ontario.
Gerald Morin, president of the Metis National Council, said the ruling is
significant "for the entire Metis nation," and sets the stage for battles
across the country. "Overall it affirms our aboriginal rights as Metis
people," he said. "We have always asserted we have these rights and they
have never been extinguished or altered by any treaties."
Neither federal nor provincial officials would comment yesterday on the
significance of the ruling.
The decision, delivered at the provincial court level, is similar to ones
in Saskatchewan and Manitoba in saying Metis have the right to hunt and
fish for food without restriction. Officials with the Ontario Ministry of
the Attorney-General have not yet said whether they will appeal the ruling,
although even defence lawyers expect the battle to eventually go to the
Supreme Court of Canada, because of the possibly sweeping ramifications. So
far, the rulings in other provinces have been upheld at the appeal court
level.
There are believed to be between 500,000 to 800,000 Metis across Canada.
Like Inuit and Indians, the Metis are recognized in the Constitution as
aboriginal people, but unlike status Indians, they do not have a legislated
right to federal government support, nor do they get federal tax-exempt
status.
Even though this case focuses on hunting and fishing rights, the much
broader issues of Metis identity -- drawn from expert testimony on native
history and even Metis genealogy -- were raised in arguments during the
two-week trial last spring. As a result, Judge Charles Vaillancourt set out
what he called "a workable definition" of who is a Metis, saying "I find
that a Metis is a person of aboriginal ancestry; who self-identifies as a
Metis, and who is accepted by the Metis community as a Metis." Judge
Vaillancourt went on to say that "the Metis' right to hunt is derived from
their customs, traditions and practices." Yet, "if the Metis exercise their
aboriginal rights, they are forced to skulk through the forests like
criminals, as opposed to hunters exercising their constitutional rights,"
the judge said in a 42-page ruling that draws at length from the oral
evidence of those who shared personal tales of how difficult it was to live
as Metis in the Northern Ontario community.
The case began with a father and son's moose hunting expedition one fall
day in 1993. Steve Powley, who is now 50, shot a bull moose north of the
family's Sault Ste. Marie home, and decided this time he would not hide the
big animal under a pile of logs, or a blanket, or skulk home through back
roads, as was the practice by most in the Metis community trying to avoid
detection. "I had been smuggling my meat like that for six years, even
though I've had this right since 1982," Mr. Powley said, referring to the
year the Constitution acknowledged the Metis as aboriginals, and, in the
mind of people like Mr. Powley, conferred the right to rely on their native
heritage rather than an official licence to qualify for the hunt. Mr.
Powley tied his kill to the top of the car, drove around downtown, and was
cutting up the carcass in his back yard when authorities came to charge him
under the province's Fish and Game Act with unlawfully hunting and
possessing moose. Mr. Powley, who carves up his own moose meat into steaks
and hamburgers, says the hunt provides for his family throughout the
winter.
Jean Teillet, a Toronto lawyer who defended Mr. Powley and has represented
the Metis claims in the other provincial rights battles, said this ruling
was "not just a small win, it's an across-the-board, slam dunk win." Ms.
Teillet is the great-grandniece of rebel Metis hero Louis Riel, is hoping
to use the judgement as a lever for dismissing a dozen similar cases before
the courts in Ontario. She says the ruling is significant because it is the
first time the Metis question has come up since a higher court ruling last
year set out the test case for an aboriginal right.
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed
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research and educational purposes only.
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S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2
EMAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html
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