The Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples has wrapped up a recent tour of western Canada.
The committee was examining the issue of Metis identity, and tackling the thorny question of who is Metis in the country and who isn’t.
Lillian Dyck is a Liberal Senator and member of the George Gordon First Nation.
Dyck says the Powley decision is one contentious issue they have had to deal with.
She says they have run into some Metis who feel the decision leaves out a large portion of the Metis population.
Dyck says that leaves some people wondering what is it that constitutes a Metis community:
“How do we define those Metis communities, right? If government decides that the only Metis communities are those that define their Metis by the Powley decision, then we’re leaving out other Metis communities that fall outside of the scope of Powley.”
She adds some hunters in the Northwest Territories told them they still can’t hunt or trap on traditional lands, even though they are Metis.
Dyck says one of the hunters even shot a moose hoping it would lead to a legal showdown in court.
The committee is putting together a report to send to government.