Ontario’s “Willing Seller-Willing Buyer” Program and the Métis
The struggle of Métis people for commercial fishing rights is a story very close to the heart of Trish O’Connor, a Métis youth currently attending Lakehead University. Her parents, Ron and Mary O’Connor, were commercial fishers on Lake of the Woods whose livelihood was threatened by the provincial government’s “Willing Seller-Willing Buyer” program, which was initiated during the 1980s. As part of one of her classes at Lakehead, Trish produced a short film about the “Willing Seller-Willing Buyer” program and its impact on Métis people as well as its implications within the wider struggle for Métis rights.
The film, featured above, provides important information about Métis rights and also tells its story in a personal way that viewers will find compelling.