Laviolette Trial Needs More Time

Laviolette Trial Needs More Time

Tuesday, October 19, 2004 at 14:22

It appears final arguments in a trial in Meadow Lake involving Metis hunting rights will have to wait until December.

The so-called Laviolette case has been centre stage at Meadow Lake Provincial Court over the last couple of weeks.

Friday was the last scheduled day for the case to be heard, but there are still a few more witnesses to call — plus, final arguments still have to be made.

Metis Nation president Dwayne Roth says prosecutors and defense lawyers simply ran out of time — partially because the Thanksgiving holiday set things back.

Among other things, the Laviolette case might settle whether Green Lake is a historic Metis community and whether Metis hunting rights are portable.