The FSIN is debating legal action after the province reversed a rule allowing First Nations and Metis hunters to hunt year-round on provincial pasture land.
“We will launch immediate legal action on this item if it is correct,” Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron said in a media release Wednesday night. “This change would be a direct violation of our inherent and treaty right to hunt, which trumps provincial law.”
The media release stated the FSIN learned of the reversal through a post on the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation’s Facebook page.
The post read that a change implemented early last year, allowing First Nations and Metis hunters to access public pastures 365 days a year, was being reversed, effective immediately. First Nations and Metis hunters will now only be allowed to hunt during recognized dates listed in the Saskatchewan Hunters’ and Trappers’ Guide, and anyone wishing to hunt outside of those dates may only do so at the discretion of the pasture manager, according to the wildlife group’s post.
Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart did not deny the news Wednesday when asked by reporters in legislature.
FSIN Vice-Chief Heather Bear said the reversal is unexpected.
“When the Ministry of Agriculture conducted engagement sessions on how the province would manage the pastures, First Nations were led to believe that they would still have access to hunt, fish, trap and gather,” she said in the FSIN’s news release. “I am very concerned that the province is now intending to severely restrict that right.”
The FSIN is expected to comment further on the reversal Thursday afternoon.
