A Mandate for Harvesting Negotiations

The Métis Nation of Ontario’s 1994 Founding Delegates Assembly coincided with the unjust prosecution of numerous Métis harvesters, including Steve Powley of the historic Sault Ste. Marie Métis Community, who had been charged by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources for illegal harvesting the previous autumn.

In response, MNO’s Founding Delegates adopted numerous resolutions to defend Métis harvesters and the exercise of inherent Métis rights within the province, including Métis harvesting rights.

In addition to establishing a community-driven legal defense fund, MNO’s Founding Delegates provided authorization for MNO leadership to pursue negotiated harvesting agreements with the Government of Ontario, unanimously resolving that:

“the PCMNO Executive will be responsible for setting up a negotiating committee for hunting, fishing & harvesting rights.”

“A decade later, the Métis Nation of Ontario’s negotiation and legal rights recognition efforts would ultimately yield success, resulting in both the 2003 R. v. Powley Métis rights victory at the Supreme Court of Canada and groundbreaking negotiated 2004 Interim Harvesting Agreement with the Government of Ontario the following year—a moment that was universally celebrated across the Métis Nation, as this was the first Métis harvesting agreement anywhere in Canada and created a precedent for similar Métis rights recognition agreements in Manitoba and Alberta.

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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