“part of the larger Métis Nation”

During the landmark 2003 hearing of R. v. Powley at the Supreme Court of Canada, the entire Métis Nation stood together alongside the Powley family and Sault Ste. Marie Métis Community to recognize, uplift, and protect their distinct Métis identity and rights under S. 35 of Canada’s Constitution. 

This included an unequivocal and unanimous affirmation that the Sault Ste. Marie Métis Community and Powley family were members of the larger Métis Nation. Based on the facts, history, as well as the Powley family’s genealogy and lived experience, the Métis Nation (through the Métis National Council) submitted to the Supreme Court, for example, that:

“It is the position of the Intervener that this is a case about the Sault Ste. Marie Métis community, which is a part of the larger Métis Nation, and the Respondents, as members of that community.”

While their support and acceptance of the Powleys and their Métis community at Sault Ste. Marie was unwavering, the Métis Nation was also clear that acceptance of additional communities or collectives for the purposes of Métis rights recognition should only occur following those collectives being subjected to the same rigorous evidence-based investigation as Sault Ste. Marie had through Powley, stating:

“It is not a case about who are the ‘Métis’ within s. 35 for all purposes or what other Aboriginal individuals or groups may have Aboriginal rights protected within s. 35. The Intervener submits that those legal issues can only be determined through a case where a court has the benefit of evidence surrounding the history of those groups and its members.”

To this day, the Sault Ste. Marie Métis Community remains the only Métis community anywhere in Canada to have been subjected to the full scrutiny of Canada’s legal system and ultimately have its distinct Métis Section 35 constitutional rights recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada—all of which was accomplished with the full backing of the Métis Nation and its component governments.

See Our Sources

• MNC’s Supreme Court Factum in Powley

• Clement Chartier Presents MNC’s Powley Intervention at SCC

• Supreme Court of Canada Decision in R. v. Powley, 2003

• Hunt for Justice: The Powley Story

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