April 27, 2006

Edmonton... The Alberta government has accepted the report of a committee examining Métis hunting and fishing rights. The government will resume negotiations on a new agreement with the Métis Nation of Alberta and the Métis Settlements General Council as a result of the report's recommendations.

The report of the MLA Committee on Métis Harvesting recognizes the right of Métis people to harvest fish and wildlife for food, and recommends new criteria for determining who qualifies and where they can hunt. The report also recommends new processes to ensure conservation of Alberta's fish and wildlife.

"Alberta has always been a leader in recognizing Métis culture and society, and we want to negotiate a new agreement together - one that balances the rights of the Métis people with wildlife conservation," said Ron Stevens, Minister of Justice and Attorney General. "This report provides us with the guidelines to do that."

The MLA Committee on Métis Harvesting was established in June 2005 in response to concerns by some members of the public with the current interim agreements between government and the Métis Nation of Alberta and the Métis Settlements General Council. The interim agreements were negotiated as the result of a Supreme Court of Canada decision in 2003, which recognized a Métis right to hunt for food.

The MLA Committee's recommendations were presented to the ministries of Justice, Sustainable Resource Development and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development.

"Alberta's approach has always been to negotiate agreements and to avoid litigation with Aboriginal people whenever possible. The government is not taking unilateral action on Métis harvesting and will be entering into negotiations," said Pearl Calahasen, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development.

"As always, we will ensure that our monitoring and enforcement systems are consistent with the agreements," said David Coutts, Minister of Sustainable Resource Development.

The committee consisted of Denis Ducharme (Chair, and MLA, Bonnyville-Cold Lake), Frank Oberle (MLA, Peace River) and Neil Brown (MLA, Calgary-Nose Hill). The Committee consulted with First Nations and Métis organizations, conservation groups, outdoor organizations, as well as numerous interested individuals.

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A Backgrounder with the MLA Committee recommendations is attached.

A copy of the MLA Committee report is available on the Justice website at:

http://www.justice.gov.ab.ca/aboriginal/downloads/RecommentationsMetisHarvesting.pdf

Media enquiries may be directed to:
Mark Cooper, Justice Communications,
(780) 427-8530
To call toll-free within Alberta dial 310-0000.

Backgrounder

The Committee recommends membership in the Métis Nation of Alberta no longer be recognized in and of itself as being sufficient to exercise Métis harvesting rights.

The Committee recommends that harvester cards be granted to Métis individuals who qualify for and wish to exercise harvesting rights. Harvester cards would allow for government review and/or audit and would be site-specific.

Harvesting must be for food. The Committee recommends wildlife parts, including trophy heads, antlers, horns and non-food parts be surrendered to Alberta Sustainable Resource Development. Métis persons desiring to harvest for trophy purposes should apply for tags, as would non-aboriginals.

The Committee recommends Métis harvesters should be licensed (at no cost) and a method to record harvest levels should be implemented. Possibilities include issuing tags, or including Métis harvesters in surveys similar to those used for non-aboriginal hunters, and/or mandatory reporting for some or all species. Consideration must be given to protecting species that are susceptible to over-harvest or are sought after for a trophy or non-food reason.

The Committee recommends that the age requirements and hunter training requirements which apply to non-aboriginal hunters be applied to all Métis harvesters. All safety requirements must continue to be applied to Métis harvesters.

The Committee recommends that Métis trapping for food should not require a license. Trapping for food would be site specific, and where trapping occurred on Fur Management Areas, any furs obtained coincidental to trapping for food would be surrendered to the Registered Fur Management Area rights holder.

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Media enquiries may be directed to:
Mark Cooper
Alberta Justice Communications
Phone: (780) 427-8530

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