Powley Story

The Powley Story

On October 22, 1993, father and son, Steve and Roddy Powley killed a bull moose just outside Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. They tagged their catch with a Metis card and a note that read "harvesting my meat for winter". One week later, the Powleys were charged by Conservation Officers for hunting moose without a license and unlawful possession of moose contrary to Ontario's Game and Fish Act.

The Metis Nation of Ontario decided to take the charges against the Fowlers as a test case and provided full political and financial support throughout its duration. At the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, the Metis National Council, on behalf of the entire Metis Nation, intervened in support of the case and provided financial support.

In 1998, the trial judge ruled that the Powleys have a Metis right to hunt that is protected by s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.The charges were dismissed, but the Crown appealed the decision. In January 2000, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice confirmed the trial decision and dismissed the Crown's appeal. The Crown appealed the decision to the Ontario Court of Appeal. On February 23,2001 the Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the earlier decisions and confirmed that the Powleys have an Aboriginal right to hunt as Metis. The Crown then appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

On September 19, 2003, the Supreme Court of Canada, in a unanimous judgment, said that the Powleys, as members of the Sault Ste Marie Metis community, can exercise a Metis right to hunt that is protected by s. 35.

What the Supreme Court Said

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed the existence of Metis communities in Canada and the constitutional protection of their existing Aboriginal rights. The Court said that the Metis were included as one of the "aboriginal peoples of Canada" in s. 35 to recognize them, to value distinctive Metis cultures, and to enhance their survival.

Specifically, the Court set out the test for establishing Metis harvesting rights protected by s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. The Court applied this test to the Sault Ste Marie Metis community and to the Powleys and found that the Powleys were exercising the Sault Ste. Marie Metis community's constitutionally protected right to hunt. However, this does not mean that the case is limited in its application only to the Sault Ste Marie Metis community. The test will apply to Metis communities across the Metis Nation Homeland.

The Court also spoke about the urgent need to develop more systematic methods to identify Metis rights-holders. In answer to government claims about Metis identification problems, the Court said that this issue was not an insurmountable problem and that the difficulties must not be exaggerated in order to defeat Metis claims.