Métis hunting trial to begin Monday

ALEX MCCUAIG


Medicine Hat will be the venue for a trial with ramifications for Métis in Alberta and across Canada as three men are set to challenge the constitutionality of hunting charges against them.


Two of the three – Ron Jones and Bruce Bates – are facing charges of hunting out of season while a third man, Garry Hirsekorn of Medicine Hat, is accused of hunting without a licence.


All three were part of a group who took part in 20 protest hunts conducted in Alberta in late 2007 and early 2008. Their trial is part of what the Métis have dubbed, “hunt for justice.”


Though the hunts have stopped, they have only begun the expected year-long trial, which begins on Monday, that will seek to establish Métis rights in the province, according to the group’s lawyer Jean Teillet.


Speaking in a telephone interview from Vancouver, Teillet said this case will be held as a benchmark whether the government will pursue charges against others.
“Our defence is that there is a Métis right to hunt across the province,” she said.
“It is fair to say what we are trying to do is get away from the idea of invisible boundaries that demarcate parts of Alberta.”


In support of the men, Métis leaders are calling on members from across their community to join them at 4 p.m. on Sunday for a celebration feast at Medicine Hat’s Veiner Centre. They are also calling on members to attend this “historic trial.”


The proceedings begin at 9 a.m. on May 4 at Medicine Hat Provincial Court