Metis face Metis in court
North Slave Metis Alliance opposes land and resources agreement-in-principle signed by feds and NWT Metis Nation
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, June 23, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A federal court judge has reserved her decision after a long-awaited civil trial initiated by the North Slave Metis Alliance against the federal government, NWT Metis Nation and the territorial government.
Tanner Arychuk, right, and his father Alex Arychuk, both members of the North Slave Metis Alliance wear traditional Metis sashes to court on June 7. The alliance took the federal government to court arguing it should have been consulted before a land claim agreement-in-principle was reached between the feds and the Fort Smith-based NWT Metis Nation. A federal court judge has reserved her decision in the case. - John McFadden/NNSL photo |
Judge Anne Mactavish heard from all four sides during a relatively rare sitting of the federal court at the Yellowknife Courthouse June 6 through 8.
The North Slave Metis Alliance opposes Metis Nation's land and resources agreement-in-principle with the federal government. That deal, approved on July 31, 2015, threatens the future existence of the North Slave alliance, according to president Bill Enge.
The North Slave alliance filed for a judicial review of that agreement mere weeks after it was signed and asked the judge to stay negotiations towards a final agreement until meaningful consultations that include all parties could occur.
Enge believes the fact feds ignored his organization in the process of reaching the agreement with the Fort Smith-based Metis Nation implies that organization is the only Metis organization of record in the NWT. By leaving the alliance out of the negotiation process, Enge contends its members' harvesting rights - specifically the right to hunt caribou and fish on the North side of Great Slave Lake - have been put in jeopardy. Enge said the difference between the two organizations is the Metis alliance asserts rights in the North Slave region while Metis nation asserts rights in the South Slave region. However, he added that as members of the same group of 'Metis of the Great Slave Lake area,' both groups assert the same rights over the same area. Enge insists his organization, although the smaller of the two with 283 members, should have a seat at the table for any land-claim negotiations.
The specific clause in the agreement the alliance opposes is based on Dene ancestry and not the distinct, rights-bearing Metis ethnicity.
"The NWT Supreme Court acknowledged that the (alliance) was owed a duty to consult," stated Enge in a letter to Yellowknifer, referring to a 2013 court decision.
Enge also stressed that the federal government is ignoring its own report into the dispute between the two Metis organizations. Federal aboriginal law expert Thomas Isaac stated in a 2017 report to Indigenous and Northern Development Minister Carolyn Bennett that Canada and the GNWT should attempt to foster better relations between the alliance and Metis nation by promoting dialogue between the two groups.
The case has garnered a lot of attention from Metis from across the NWT. The courtroom was filled all three days - the majority of spectators being Metis from the north side of Great Slave Lake. Many of them wore a traditional Metis sash to court in support of their organization and its goals.
"The Metis story, just like its sash, is colourful and has many threads to it," stated Enge, adding if the judge does not side with the Metis of the North Slave, the alliance risks becoming nothing more than a "culture club."
Yellowknifer tried several times to each out to the NWT Metis Nation and its president Gary Bailey, but no calls were returned as of press time.
