MMF president first witness in Métis harvesting rights trial – paNOW

Apr 15, 2025

David Chartrand had been speaking for an hour and a half when Crown Prosecutor James Fyfe lodged an objection.

The President of the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) had come to Meadow Lake Provincial Court from Winnipeg to testify in support of Oliver Poitras, one of three Métis men who were charged with unlawfully hunting and fishing. Under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, First Nations have rights to hunt and fish throughout Saskatchewan, but Métis rights are recognized only in specific areas. The trial outcome will help determine whether or not Métis people in Saskatchewan have the right to hunt, fish, trap and gather food throughout the whole province.

Chartrand, a longtime politician and activist, had been speaking at length about what is was like to grow up poor in Duck Bay, MB where it was a hard life, but one he cherished. When his testimony veered into the political realm, Fyfe asked the court, presided over by Judge Bryce Pashovitz, what the relevance was and asked that Chartrand keep to the task at hand. However, Defence Counsel Kathy Hodgeson-Smith rebutted that Chartrand’s testimony – all of it – went to the heart of the case which is: who are the Métis, how do they govern themselves, what are their customs, where is that homeland and how do they relate to it.

Read More: https://panow.com/2025/04/15/mmf-president-first-witness-in-metis-harvesting-rights-trial/