No Appeal of MNO Court Victory in R v. Laurin, Lemieux and Lemieux

OTTAWA (June 21, 2007) --- The Government of Ontario has given notice that it will not appeal the decision of Justice Greg Rodgers on June 12, 2007 to stay the charges of Marc Laurin, Roger Lemieux and Shaun Lemieux, three Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) Harvesters who were charged with illegal fishing in their traditional harvesting territory south of Sudbury, Ontario

“This is a major step in the Métis Hunt for Justice”, said MNO President, Tony Belcourt. “It means our people, in all of our Traditional Harvesting Territories in Ontario, can hunt and fish for food or for ceremonial purposes without the horrible specter of being charged by Conservation Officers of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) for exercising their rights. We welcome the decision by the Government to respect the MNO-MNR Harvesting Agreement” Mr. Belcourt concluded.

MNO Chair, Gary Lipinski said, “We now look forward to entering a new era with the Government of Ontario. Now that the MNO-MNR Harvesting Agreement is being fully honoured, we need to get back to the negotiation table to undertake our mutual obligations. We also need to get on with other important issues that are priorities for the Métis people, including, ensuring that Ontario is fulfilling its consultation obligations to our communities, increasing Métis access to forestry and other economic development opportunities and to resource-revenue sharing.”

The Métis are a distinct Aboriginal people with a unique culture, language and heritage, and with an ancestral Homeland that centres around Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, parts of the Northwest Territories, as well as the northwestern United States. The Métis played an instrumental role in the shaping of Canada, and work tirelessly to share their culture, music, traditions and knowledge of the environment with their fellow Canadians. Today, the Métis live, work, raise their families and pay taxes in communities all across Canada.

CONTACT:
Avery Hargreaves, Communications Assistant
Cell#: 613-294-1148
Work: 613-798-1488 Ext. 108

Katelin Peltier
MNO Acting Manager of Communications
Cell #: 613-859-1730