Alberta Metis to defy provincial hunting restrictions this fall

Canadian Press

EDMONTON - Alberta Metis will defy provincial hunting laws this fall by holding traditional community hunts outside of government-designated harvesting areas, their leader says.

Audrey Poitras, president of the Metis Nation of Alberta, said that if her people are charged they will fight in court to draw attention to the province's "regressive Metis harvesting policy."

"This is about tradition. This is not about somebody deciding where we have the right to hunt," Poitras said Thursday.

"If this has to end up in court, then we are prepared to do that."

Earlier this year the government replaced an agreement that allowed Metis to hunt and fish without a licence throughout the province with new rules that restrict such harvesting to areas near eight Metis settlements and 17 communities in northern Alberta.

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