Métis federation prepares for long court battle over hunting

Hunting cards handed out by the Manitoba Métis Federation cost members only $10 – but the federation expects to spend millions defending the right to use them.

Federation officials predict a court case that began in Brandon Monday morning, pitting a Métis hunter against the provincial Conservation Department, could end up costing as much as a similar case in Ontario that landed in the Supreme Court of Canada.

The 2003 Supreme Court ruling, known as the Powley decision, found Métis living around an Ontario community had a right, as aboriginals, to hunt and fish for food out of season or without a provincial licence. The case has been interpreted to mean that Métis who can prove a connection to a stable, continuous community can also invoke the aboriginal right to hunt in that area.

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After the Supreme Court ruling, the Manitoba Métis Federation began issuing "harvester cards" to Métis hunters.

The provincial government does not recognize the MMF harvester cards, and has charged 10 cardholders with hunting offences.

Will Goodon's is the first case to go to court. About 30 people, carrying signs and flags, marched to the courthouse in Brandon Monday morning to support his fight.

"I was actually hunting in a place where I've hunted all my life, were my dad taught me how to hunt ducks, right behind my dad's farm in the Turtle Mountains," Goodon told CBC News.

Goodon hopes his case establishes that Métis hunters have the same rights as First Nations. The Manitoba Métis Federation is putting up the money to fight the case.

"This is something that is very, very important to us, and if we have to go all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, we will," said federation president David Chartrand.

"This is principles at stake here for us. We're spending quite an astronomical amount of money, and so is the province spending my tax dollars trying to fight me."

Chartrand believes the Powley case has already decided the matter, and says the province's decision to prosecute the hunters is "unbelievably ridiculous." Métis leaders say the province refuses to honour the hunting cards because the government wants the money it receives from hunting licences.

Provincial officials, however, have cited conservation and legal aspects related to the interpretation of the Powley decision.