In the fall of 2003, in what would become known as a “watershed” moment for the Métis, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that when Steve Powley and his son Roddy shot a bull moose 10 years earlier near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, they were exercising their Métis right to hunt, as protected by section 35 of the Constitution Act of 1982.

In the fourth episode of The True Canadians, the Podcast, Métis lawyer Jason Madden characterizes the decision of the top court in the land as a “sea change” that would set the Métis on a journey to many other legal successes.

The episode is the second of a special two-part segment that host David Wylynko recorded with Madden, who in part 1 examines Métis progress in negotiating self-government agreements with Canada in recent years. In part 2, Jason traces Métis political history and the struggle for what he calls “a way into Canada” that culminated in Métis recognition in the Constitution Act of 1982. Madden explores the significance of the first ministers’ conferences convened in the 1980s by then–Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, the Supreme Court Powley decision of 2003, and of other milestones in the ongoing Métis journey toward a true nation-to-nation relationship with Canada.

Notes

Jason Madden, partner at Aird & Birlis

Bill C-53: An Act respecting the recognition of certain Métis governments

Supreme Court declares Indigenous child welfare law constitutional (CBC News)

The True Canadians website