“establish a legal defense fund”

Throughout the Métis Nation of Ontario’s 1994 Founding Delegates Assembly, delegates debated and adopted numerous forward-thinking resolutions toward the advancement of Métis self-government and rights recognition, including the defense of Métis harvesters and the exercise of inherent Métis harvesting rights in Ontario.

Among the Founding Delegates Assembly’s unanimously adopted resolutions was direction for, “the MNO [to] establish a legal defense fund & that the MNO and their communities establish fundraising in accordance with the by-laws”.

This timely resolution coincided with the unjust prosecution of numerous Métis harvesters, including Steve Powley of the historic Sault Ste. Marie Métis Community, who was charged for illegal harvesting the previous autumn and attended the MNO’s 1994 Founding Delegates Assembly alongside his family.

Nearly a decade later, Powley’s fight for Métis harvesting rights—by that time supported collectively by the Métis Nation of Ontario and broader Métis Nation—would lead to the Métis Nation’s landmark 2003 R. v. Powley victory at the Supreme Court of Canada.

See Our Sources

• Record of Motions - MNO Founding Delegates Assembly

• MNC Expert Panel Final Report

• MNC’s Supreme Court Factum in Powley

• Supreme Court of Canada Decision in R. v. Powley

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