The Metis Settlements General Council signs new harvesting agreement with Alberta

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For Immediate Release

Edmonton, AB – March 14, 2019, Gerald Cunningham President of the Metis Settlements General Council, Darren Calliou – Vice President, Metis Settlements General Council, the Honourable Shannon Phillips, Minister of Alberta Environment and Parks, and the Honourable Richard Feehan, Minister of Indigenous Relations signed the Metis Settlements General Council – Government of Alberta Metis Harvesting Agreement.

The Agreement is the outcome of dedicated efforts from both parties and agrees that Qualified Metis Settlement members who might be beneficiaries of Metis harvesting rights, which are recognized as Aboriginal rights within the meaning of s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, have the ability to hunt, fish, and trap for food.

For the Metis Settlements this is a considerable win.

“We will now be in charge of identifying which of our members qualify for Harvesting rights for ourselves in accordance with relevant case law.  The Metis Settlements General Council is dedicated to ensuring all of our qualified Metis Settlement harvesters have everything they need to prove their ancestral connection to the lands they are harvesting on.” says President Cunningham.

The Metis Settlements General Council and individual Settlements will work together and issue Qualified Metis Settlement Harvester Designations for Metis Settlement members. These Harvester designations will be accepted by authorities in the designated harvesting zones set out in the Government of Alberta’s new policy.

The implementation process for this new agreement requires time to develop.  More information will be available prior to September 1, 2019, when The Agreement comes into effect.

For further Information contact:

Gerald Cunningham gcunningham@msgc.ca,

Erin McGregor emcgregor@msgc.ca, or

Blake Desjarlais bdesjarlais@msgc.ca

T: 780- 822-4096C

To see full Agreement click here.

Click here to see full Metis Harvesting in Alberta Policy 2018

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