TO: MNA Members, Locals, Regions and Provincial Council
FROM: Audrey Poitras, MNA President
DATE: August 1, 2017
RE: Update on Métis Rights
Métis Harvesting Rights
As most members should be aware, the MNA-Alberta Framework Agreement, which was signed in February 2017, included Alberta’s commitment to facilitate “the recognition and respect of Métis rights in Alberta that upholds the honour of the Crown and advances reconciliation.” Since that time, we have been working hard with Alberta to implement this agreement. With respect to Métis harvesting, the agreement committed Alberta to:
Pursue collaborative discussions with the Ministry of Environment and Parks with respect to Métis harvesting rights;
As most of you know, the MNA has never agreed with or supported Alberta’s unilaterally imposed Métis Harvesting Policy. This policy was put into place in 2007 after our Interim Métis Harvesting Agreement (“IMHA”) was cancelled by the Ed Stelmach Government and Ted Morton. Since that time, we have turned to the courts and have taken political action to overturn this flawed provincial policy.
Because of our consistent and collective efforts, Alberta has now agreed to begin formal discussions with the MNA on reviewing and updating this policy. For your information, I am attaching a letter recently received from Alberta indicating that they now have a mandate from Cabinet to collaborate with us on reviewing this policy. In the next few weeks, we hope to finalize mutually agreeable terms of reference to guide our efforts.
Then the hard work will begin—at the negotiations table with Alberta. At the same time, we will be engaging in province-wide consultations in the Fall of 2017 to inform our positions at the table and to receive input from our members on the issues identified in the attached letter. I am cautiously optimistic that real progress can be made on this file, so our Métis harvesters can exercise their constitutionally-protected rights without fear of harassment or prosecution.