Is the Métis community at Sault Ste. Marie a “Métis people” by themselves?
No. The Court only decided that the Métis community at Sault Ste. Marie has an existing right to hunt protected by s. 35. In fact, the Court explicitly said that it did not decide “whether this community [Sault Ste. Marie] is also a Métis “people”, or whether it forms part of a larger people that extends over a wider area…”. The Métis Nation maintains its position that it is a distinct Aboriginal people in Canada recognized in s. 35. Sault Ste. Marie and other Métis communities throughout the historic Métis Nation Homeland are a part of the larger Métis Nation. These communities share a common history, language, way of life, culture and kinship connections to form a distinct “people” based on international law standards.
