We didn win Blais at the Supreme Court of Canada – does this mean Metis in the Prairie Provinces do not have harvesting rights?
No, Blais does not mean that. The loss in Blais just means that Manitoba Metis and likely Metis in Saskatchewan and Alberta cannot claim the additional constitutional protection for harvesting provided to “Indians” by virtue of the Natural Resources Transfer Agreements. However, based on the Powley test Metis communities in the Prairie Provinces can have harvesting rights protected by s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. It is also important to note that the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench (R. v. Morin & Daigneault) has already held that scrip (regardless of its possible effect on Metis land title) did not extinguish Metis harvesting rights.
