Powley Case
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Friday, Sep 19, 2003
Métis hail 'major' win as Supreme Court affirms
hunting rights
By SUE BAILEY
The case began when Steve Powley, a Mitis hunter from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., was charged. (CP Picture Archive/Tom Hanson/2003)
OTTAWA (CP) - Mitis people who prove a historic link to surviving Mitis communities and customs can claim hunting and other aboriginal rights, says the country's top court.
The Supreme Court of Canada set a crucial test Friday that has implications for dozens of Mitis cases underway across the country. It ruled 9-0 that about 900 Mitis - of mixed native and European descent - from around Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., can hunt for food without licenses and out of season.
The judgment is seen as a major boost for similar claims.
A jubilant roar filled the Supreme Court's vast marble lobby as the 24-page ruling was released.
Dozens of Mitis people wearing colourful traditional sashes hugged and wept.
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"This is major," said Dwight Dorey, head of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples representing about 800,000 off-reserve native and Mitis members.
"It's no longer a case where just Indians, as determined by the federal government, have aboriginal rights."
About 600,000 status Indians across Canada will have to "share the resources" with about 300,000 Mitis, Dorey predicted.
And governments at all levels can no longer avoid negotiating with Mitis for access to everything from health services to natural resources, he said.
Ralph Goodale, the federal minister for Mitis issues, urged calm as hunting season starts.
"It's obviously a situation where people may respond cautiously (or) they may respond with a great deal of enthusiasm," Goodale said in Regina.
"And it would be very important for everyone to behave here appropriately, calmly and maintaining proper order and responsibility."
Ottawa will take several weeks to study a decision with potentially wide impact, Goodale said.
"It would appear pretty clear that there are implications here that do go beyond the narrow confines of the ruling."
Ottawa is willing to discuss implementing Mitis rights "in good faith," Goodale added.
Ontario government lawyers, backed by attorneys general for Canada and several provinces, argued against Mitis hunting rights, citing conservation and other concerns.
Non-native hunters voiced fears that big-game stocks could be threatened.
Aboriginal rights have previously been allowed only for those who lived here before European contact. Status Indians are permitted to hunt for food without provincial licenses and out of season.
But the high court modified the pre-contact test to reflect the distinct history of Mitis settlements, breathing new life into protections guaranteed under Section 35 of the Constitution.
"The purpose and the promise of S. 35 is to protect practices that were historically important features of these distinctive communities and that persist in the present day as integral elements of their Mitis culture," the court said.
The judgment won't mean chaos in the bush, Mitis lawyer Jean Teillet stressed.
Mitis membership is already controlled by national and local organizations that issue hunting cards, for example.
"Someone who has a great, great, great, great, great grandmother who was an Indian princess" is not going to be able to claim those rights, Teillet said.
"You have to be part of a collectivity that has a cultural identity, common traits and a geographic territory."
Mitis hunters say they're a small and responsible part of the big-game harvest. They dismissed claims that an unregulated Mitis hunt could spell disaster for deer and moose stocks.
Steve Payne, spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, said hunters claiming Mitis status will have to prove their affiliation. Conservation officers ask a series of questions to determine the validity of such claims, he said.
The landmark case began when Steve Powley, a Mitis hunter from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., was charged along with his son Roddy in 1993 for killing a bull moose without a provincial license.
"I'm glad for my children," said Powley, who signed copies of Friday's judgment at the Supreme Court.
Powley uses a wheelchair after he lost half of his right leg when a cut suffered on a remote hunting trip became infected, he said.
Securing meat for the winter was more important than rushing home for care, he explained.
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