Trial set to determine Mtis hunting and fishing rights in Saskatchewan [Video]

A trial set to begin next week in Meadow Lake, Sask. will address whether Métis people in the province have the right to hunt and fish for food freely.

The case involves three Métis men, Oliver Poitras, Warren Boyer, and Harold St. Pierre, who face charges of unlawful hunting and fishing.

Poitras and Boyer were convicted in 2018, but the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal (SKCA) granted their appeal in 2022, ordering a new trial.

Harold St. Pierre was charged with hunting without a licence near Yorkton and will also be included in the trial.

While First Nations have rights to hunt and fish throughout Saskatchewan under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, Métis rights are recognized only in specific areas, primarily in the north.

“What you have essentially is a bit of patchwork across western Canada of where the rights of the Métis are,” said Senior Defence Counsel Kathy …