Powley Case
Voyageur Articles
President’s Message - Tremendous victory will lead to change
This message is not my usual “think piece” on
the current events within the MNO. I haven’t had time
to think about them to be honest. Nor has there been any time
to analyse and reflect on that beautiful day on September
19th when we scored such a victory in the Métis hunt
for justice. Rather, at this point I feel that it is urgent
to advise everyone about what the Supreme Court of Canada
(SCC) Decision in Powley means to Métis harvesters.
I am also providing some general comments on overall implications
of this decision and what we anticipate may result in the
short term.
I have been in close communication with the MNO executive
and the MNO negotiations team which had a conference call
with the MNR negotiations team a few hours after the release
of the decision on September 19th. MNO Chair and Chief Negotiator,
Gary Lipinski, has been in contact a number of times with
the MNR since that call. The PCMNO, Captains of the Hunt and
MNO Legal Counsel held a teleconference call to review the
events and to formulate our approach in the immediate future.
On page 9 is a notice which provides, at a glance, what the
decision means to Métis harvesters. We have begun to
schedule visits to the communities to discuss this more fully.
In the meantime, if there are any questions concerning what
the decision means to MNO harvesters, please contact the Captain
of the Hunt in your area on matters related to the MNO Harvesting
Policy or to apply for an MNO Harvester’s Certificate.
For other questions concerning the MNO Registry or status
of applications for Harvester’s Certificates, please
contact Beverley Newton at the Head Office in Ottawa (613-798-1488).
Applications for MNO Registry may be obtained from our offices
throughout the province or by calling the MNO office in Ottawa.
The SCC decision has much wider implications, as we anticipated
all along. The SCC has made it very clear that the purpose
of including Métis in s.35 of the Constitution Act,
1982, “is based on a commitment to recognising the Métis
and enhancing their survival as distinctive communities.”
This decision affords us great opportunity to open doors,
but we must be very deliberate and diligent in how we move
forward from here. There are many interests at stake beyond
our own and to ensure success we need to take everything into
account and plan carefully and accordingly.
The MNO executive held a meeting with the Union of Ontario
Indians executive on Sunday Sept. 21st, not only on harvesting
issues, which are a common concern, but also concerning the
forthcoming renewal of the Aboriginal Healing and Wellness
Strategy and the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Agreements.
I was also invited to attend a meeting of the Chiefs of Ontario
in Thunder Bay on September 26th to discuss these matters.
At the leadership level, we are committed to respect each
others rights and to try to work together in these areas of
common interest.
The federal government has also made an initial call to Métis
National Council (MNC) leadership. The MNC has called for
an immediate meeting with the federal Minister of Natural
Resources, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and all Ministers
of Natural Resources in the provinces from Ontario to BC.
There are some matters to urgently address such as building
the capacity to properly manage our Registries and to consult
in our communities on the impact of this decision. We intend
to press governments to set a table of negotiations on these
issues so that we can, at the outset, discuss issues not only
related to harvesting for food, but also other resource based
issues including Métis commercial fishing, trapping
and wood access issues.
In the longer term, I believe this decision will mark a significant
change in the area of delivery of programs and services. It
will also provide a significant benefit to our objectives
in the areas of resource and economic development.
Nevertheless, we can’t get ahead of ourselves. The new
Premier will need some time to appoint a Cabinet and those
Ministers will then, in turn, need time to get a handle on
their responsibilities. There is no doubt that we have the
attention of the federal government. Meetings are now taking
place with various Deputy Ministers to set the stage for meetings
with Ministers and perhaps Cabinet in the near future.
This decision is a tremendous victory which will now set the
stage for a wholesale change for us in the future. I want
to take this opportunity to thank the Powley family for “doing
their part”, as Steve Powley said in a recent interview.
I want to thank our team of lawyers for the fantastic job
they did for us. I want to thank everyone in the Métis
Nation who stood by the tough decisions we made to support
the Powleys and to see this through to the end. For now we
should celebrate and enjoy what we have won in the courts.
Very soon, we begin the hard work to build on this wonderful
achievement for the good of our people and for the security
of future generations.
I would welcome any comments or questions you may have.
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