Will Goodon and the MMF won - A historic precedent setting case for Metis in Canada

Manitoba Métis win hunting rights case
Last Updated: Thursday, January 8, 2009 11:04 AM CT

CBC News: http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/

Métis argue they should not require a hunting licence in Manitoba. (CBC)

A man has won a five-year legal battle against the Manitoba government with a landmark court ruling on Métis hunting rights.

A judge in Brandon, Man., ruled Thursday on the case of Will Goodon, who was charged with hunting without a licence after he shot a ringneck duck near Turtle Mountain in October 2004.

Goodon argued his Manitoba Métis Federation harvester card was all he needed — but Manitoba Conservation officials disagreed and Goodon was charged under the Wildlife Act.

Métis, unlike status Indians and Inuit, do not have an automatic right to hunt, the Manitoba government argued.

But the Manitoba Métis Federation argued the Supreme Court of Canada recognized the right of Métis to hunt in an Ontario case where two brothers, Steve and Roddy Powley, were charged with illegally killing a bull moose near Sault Ste. Marie. In that case, the Supreme Court sided with the Métis.

The Powley case clarified the definition of a Métis person under Section 35 of the Constitution. There, the Supreme Court said to be Métis for constitutional purposes a person must "self-identify" as Métis, be accepted as a member of a modern Métis community and have some ancestral connection to the founding historic Métis community.

Goodon said he was always optimistic about the decision of the Manitoba provincial court. "It has been a long time," said Goodon. "I get a lot of phone calls from Métis people all over Manitoba, all over Canada asking me for updates. I've been telling them every year … we'll get to go next hunting season."

Some experts say if Métis have the unfettered right to hunt along with status Indian and Inuit, they may ultimately obtain the right to be consulted and compensated for any development on lands they claim are traditional.

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Métis Nation of Alberta Press Release

Métis Nation of Alberta Congratulates Manitoba Métis on Harvesting Rights Victory in R. v. Goodon

Alberta Métis Urge Alberta Government To Recognize Métis Rights In Order To Avoid Wasting Taxpayers Money On Protracted Court Battles

Edmonton, AB (January 8, 2009) – Today, the Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) congratulated the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), on yet another victory for Métis harvesting rights in western Canada with the release of the Provincial Court of Manitoba’s decision in R. v. Goodon (the “Goodon case”).

The Goodon case began in October 2004 when Will Goodon harvested a duck near Turtle Mountain in southwestern Manitoba. Mr. Goodon did not obtain a provincial license, but was harvesting under the authority of a MMF Harvesters Card. He was charged by Wildlife Officers for unlawful possession of wildlife contrary to s. 19 of Manitoba’s Wildlife Act. The MMF defended Mr. Goodon based on the Métis right to harvest, which is protected in Canada’s Constitution.

After a trial that spanned over a year which included testimony from Métis community witnesses, experts and historians, Justice Combs of the Provincial Court of Manitoba dismissed the charge against Mr. Goodon in a written decision that was released in Brandon today.

Justice Combs ruled that Mr. Goodon has a constitutionally protected Métis right to hunt and that Manitoba’s Wildlife Act is of no force and effect in its application to Mr. Goodon and other Métis harvesters because the province’s regulatory regime unjustifiably infringes the Métis right to hunt and fails to recognize or accommodate the Métis right.

In dismissing the charge against Mr. Goodon, Justice Combs held that “[t]he Métis community of Western Canada has its own distinctive identity” and that within Manitoba there is a regional rights-bearing Métis community that “includes all of the area within the present boundaries of southern Manitoba from the present day City of Winnipeg and extending south to the United States and northwest to the Province of Saskatchewan including the area of present day Russell, Manitoba.”

The Court also acknowledged that this rights-bearing Métis community in historic and contemporary times extends well outside of Manitoba.

“On behalf of the MNA Provincial Council and all Alberta Métis, I want to congratulate Will Goodon, the MMF and Métis lawyers – Jean Teillet and Jason Madden – for the efforts and commitment to the Métis Nation’s ongoing ‘hunt for justice’ within our Homeland,” said MNA President Audrey Poitras.

“I truly hope this decision will usher in a new collaborative approach on Métis harvesting rights in Manitoba and that this approach will be adopted by other provinces in western Canada. Métis harvesting rights are here to stay and governments must begin to recognize these rights in their laws. We should not be in the courts. We should be talking and working together in order to ensure Canada’s Constitution is respected,” added Poitras.

“Alberta was once a leader on working collaboratively with Métis on harvesting rights issues. After the release of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Powley, the MNA and Alberta negotiated an Interim Métis Harvesting Agreement which worked well for over 2 ½ years. Unfortunately, politics trumped partnership and Métis are being charged and having to defend themselves in the courts,” said MNA Minister for Métis Rights, Cecil Bellrose, “With the Goodon case, we now have court decisions in each of the other Prairie Provinces recognizing and affirming the harvesting rights of Métis living in the south, yet the Alberta Minister of Sustainable Development continues to completely deny the existence of Métis rights in southern Alberta. This victory further illustrates the unreasonable and flawed unilateral Métis harvesting policy the Alberta Government currently has in place,” concluded Bellrose.

President Poitras concluded, “In these times of economic uncertainty, I think Alberta taxpayers would rather have their tax dollars spent on social services and better housing than wasted on taking innocent Métis people to court for practicing their culture and traditions. The MNA remains ready and willing to work with the Alberta Government once again to ensure Métis harvesting rights are respected in this province.”

For additional information contact:
Charity Sokolan
MNA Communications
Ph: (780) 455-2200

To See Court Decision or the Highlights of the case follow this link:

http://www.albertametis.com/MNAHome/Home.aspx