And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (S.I.S.I.S.) writes: ONTARIO APPEALS METIS CONSTITUTIONAL RULING Canadian Press, January 22, 1999 by Nanda Tieri [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.] TORONTO (CP) - The Ontario government is appealing a ground-breaking court ruling that gave the province's Metis hunting and fishing rights under the Constitution. The Ontario move has angered the Metis, especially the government's questioning of whether some of the people involved in December's court case are legally Metis. "It's hard to describe how awful we feel to be told by the government You don't exist," said Tony Belcourt, president of Metis Nation of Ontario. "There is no pride in the Metis people of this province. They shun us. They deny our existence. They certainly deny our rights. It's as if they are using every means at their disposal to bring about genocide of the Metis people in Ontario and they are determined to use the courts." The December ruling involved Steve Powley, 49, and his son Roddy, 25, charged in 1993 under Ontario's Game and Fish Act with illegally hunting and possessing moose. The issue was whether the Metis, people of mixed Indian and European blood, have the right to hunt for food under the Canada's Constitution. In dismissing the charges, Judge Charles Vaillancourt ruled the Ontario act violates the aboriginal right of the Metis to hunt moose and other game. Vaillancourt also ruled the Metis right to hunt is derived from their customs, traditions and practices and "hunting, including the hunting of moose, was and continues to be part of their culture." The judgment was so strongly in favour of the Metis, Belcourt said, that it was expected the Ontario government "might be persuaded to use common sense to negotiate an agreement." The appeal didn't surprise Roddy Powley, who speculated the government likely believed it had too much to lose by letting the decision stand. He said he believes the government is worried that the wildlife population would decrease if Metis were exempt from the provinces game and fish act. "Not every Metis person is going to hunt or fish. I only take what I need for food," said Powley from his home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. One of the grounds of appeal is the judges finding that the Powleys had "sufficient genealogical connection with an historically identified Metis community," even though Steve Powley has 1/64 aboriginal blood and Roddy has 1/128 aboriginal blood. "I don't believe in blood quantity," said Roddy Powley. "No one can say how much Indian blood you have. I consider myself a Metis person." In its appeal, the province says Vaillancourt erred in 27 instances. One of them was a finding that to qualify as a Metis person under the Constitution, a person must only be of aboriginal ancestry, self-identify as Metis, and be accepted by the Metis community as Metis. The Ontario government believes the court battle will lead to a resolution. "The matter raises a number of significant issues related to Ontario relationship to people who claim rights as Metis," said Brian Blomme, a spokesman for the Ministry of Natural Resources. There are 50,000 Metis in Ontario. Their primary grievance has been that the province refuses to recognize what they deem their constitutional right to hunt and fish. The issue has also been a sore point for Metis in Saskatchewan. In May, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal set aside a ruling that the provinces 27,000 Metis have the same hunting rights as status Indians. The following include some of the grounds for appeal in the Ontario governments bid to overturn a constitutional ruling that gives the provinces Metis the right to hunt and fish. The province says the judge in the court case erred in: - Failing to address the question of the purposes underlying the protection of existing aboriginal rights of Metis, as distinct from the other aboriginal people of Canada, under the Constitution; - Finding that in order to qualify as a Metis person under the Constitution, a person must only (a) be of aboriginal ancestry, (b) self-identify as Metis, and (c) be accepted by the Metis community as Metis; - Finding that two voluntary Metis organizations, the Ontario Metis Aboriginal Association and the Metis Nation of Ontario, "represent contemporary Metis society" and that under the Constitution , acceptance of the accused persons by the two groups as members constitutes acceptance of them "by the Metis community" as Metis; - Finding that the conservation of moose in Ontario will not be affected by allowing all Metis to hunt without a licence. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
