Yellowknife (Sep 22/03) - Government "rednecks" stand in the way of Metis earning full aboriginal rights, says a Fort Smith leader.

Ken Hudson, president of the Fort Smith Metis Council, cautiously welcomed Friday's Supreme Court of Canada ruling that gave Metis in Ontario aboriginal hunting rights.

"I'm not dancing around yet," Hudson said.

He hasn't read the Supreme Court decision, but Hudson said he hopes the ruling is clear and decisive.

However, he warns there are many opponents to Metis rights, including the federal and provincial governments.

"Those rednecks are still out there and they're going to be picking through (the ruling) to hold Metis back on their rights."

Hudson says South Slave Metis should get together to consider the ruling's implications, noting it could effect Metis hunting rights in Wood Buffalo National Park.

He was charged for shooting a moose in Wood Buffalo National Park in 1999, a charge that was later stayed.

On Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled 9-0 in the so-called Powley case that the Metis of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., have the aboriginal right to hunt for food.

R.W. Powley and his son were charged in 1993 for shooting a moose.

The province of Ontario lost in court several times and appealed the matter to Canada's top court.

In addition to supporting Metis rights to hunt for food, the Supreme Court also said any Metis with a demonstrable ancestral connection and current membership in an existing Metis community has aboriginal rights.

Bill Enge, president of the Yellowknife Metis Nation Local 66, believes the court decision is applicable everywhere in the country.

"I think it's a very significant ruling for Metis across Canada," Enge says.

"For the first time since Louis Riel, the highest court of the land, finally in a concrete fashion, has affirmed Metis aboriginal rights are equal to those of our aboriginal counterparts, the Indians and Inuit."

That could have "serious" consequences, he adds. For example, he says DIAND may have to change its policies to offer programs equally to Metis, Indians and Inuit, and Metis will have to be included by the Crown in native land claims. The president of the Fort Providence Metis Council said the decision sets a precedent towards recognizing the constitutional rights of Metis under Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution.

"It is time for governments to set aside their legacy of denial, shameful conduct and colonial thinking by moving forward towards fully reconciling Metis people's rights within the Canadian federation," says Albert J. Lafferty.