Metis Win Belhumeur Harvesting Rights Case
Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 15:21
A Metis fisher has won a harvesting rights case in southern Saskatchewan.
A judge in Fort Qu’Appelle has found Don Belhumeur not guilty of illegal fishing.
The case stems from an incident in 2002, when authorities charged Belhumeur with fishing without a license on Lake Katepwa.
The Metis man challenged the ruling on the basis he was simply exercising his Aboriginal rights within the Parkland-Grasslands area.
The provincial government argued against his rights to fish, saying Metis harvesting rights usually apply to specific Metis communities like the ones found in both the Laviolette and Turnor court cases.
However, the judge decided otherwise and today found Belhumeur not guilty of the charge.