Manitoba Metis leader wins battle over fishing ticket as charge is stayed

Manitoba Métis Federation President David Chartrand is pictured during a June 21, 2024 interview. (Danton Unger/CTV News Winnipeg)

WINNIPEG — The Crown has stayed proceedings against Manitoba Metis Federation president David Chartrand, who was given a ticket alleging he was fishing without a licence.

Chartrand was given the ticket on a lake near the northern community of Cranberry Portage on June 30, and was accused of angling outside of the areas where the Manitoba government recognizes Metis harvesting rights.

Chartrand said from the beginning he did nothing wrong and that the conservation officer was not properly informed.

The Manitoba government recognizes Metis natural resource harvesting rights, which includes the right to fish without a licence, in most of southern, central and western Manitoba, along with a small area in the northwest.

The Manitoba Metis Federation is pushing to have those areas expanded, and the government is considering the issue.

Dana Rudy, deputy minister of Economic Development, Investment, Trade and Natural Resources, says a decision was made in late June to back off enforcement against Metis harvesters in the areas being considered.

Documents obtained by The Canadian Press show the matter was discussed in the days after Chartrand was ticketed.

The documents, obtained under the freedom of information law, are heavily redacted and portions that have been released do not mention Chartrand by name -- only that Metis individuals were seen fishing without a licence on June 30 on the Cranberry Lakes, outside of the Metis harvesting areas set by the province in 2012.

"The individuals were fishing outside of the recognized harvesting area. The officer advised the individuals their rights are not recognized in the area where they were fishing and they are required to have a licence to fish in that area," Kristin Hayward, an assistant deputy minister, wrote in a July 2 note to Rudy and others.

"Given there is no formal agreement between Manitoba and the MMF to expand the boundary beyond the 2012 map, conservation officers continue to enforce based on the 2012 boundary."

One week later, a draft version of information on Metis harvesting for conservation officers was developed, although its contents have been withheld under three exemptions in the freedom of information law: advice to a public body, information that could be legal privilege, and information that could harm the relationship between the provincial government and another government or Indigenous band council.

The push for expanded Metis harvesting rights is being opposed by some First Nations leaders in Manitoba.

While the MMF says it has historical ties to communities across the north, some First Nations chiefs say treaty rights based on people who were on the land thousands of years ago take precedence. They have demanded the province consult First Nations before any expansion.

The NDP government said Monday discussions are ongoing.

"We're continuing to work with the MMF on this issue and have conversations around it, and part of that is to have conversations with local communities," said Jamie Moses, minister of natural resources.

   This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2024.