We didn’t win Blais at the Supreme Court of Canada – does this mean Métis in the Prairie Provinces do not have harvesting rights?
No, Blais does not mean that. The loss in Blais just means that Métis 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 Métis 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 the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench (R. v. Morin & Daigneault) has already held that scrip (regardless of its possible effect on Métis land title) did not extinguish Métis harvesting rights.
