Supreme Court will not hear Quebec community's case seeking Mtis rights

The Supreme Court of Canada willnot hear the appeal of a Quebec groupseeking recognition ofMtis rights to occupy hunting camps on public lands.

Brought forth by lead plaintiff GhislainCorneau and other members of the Communautmtisse du Domaine du Roy et de la Seigneurie de Mingan (CMDRSM), the case intended to defend the constitutional rights of 4,000 members living across the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec who say they are Mtis.

The SCC announced Thursday morning that the case was dismissed with costs.

"Although we are disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision not to hear our appealwhich raises important questions of Mtis s.35 rights, this decision should in no way be interpreted as a denial of our rights or our existence as a community," the CMDSRM said via a statement issued through their lawyers atWestaway Law Group.

"The lower courts in this matter failed to recognize theexistence of our historic community largely because they viewed the evidence before them through a Eurocentric lens. In addition, our ability to prove our claim was also hindered by the fact that Mtis history was never adequately documented by the Crown in Quebec."

The community was the first organization in Quebec to attempt to meet the Powley Test in a case to the Quebec Superior Court in 2007.

No court has yet recognized any Mtis community east of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

The community was hoping to present new evidence. Thestatement said the groupwill be exploring "all potential avenues for the recognition" of their inherent rights.

"The CMDRSM is a vibrant modern people and will continue to move forward in seeking recognition of its rights as an Indigenous community," the statement read.

"Our determination to achieve reconciliation is unshaken and our vision for our community is resolute."

Mtis National Council 'satisfied' with judgment

The Mtis National Council (MNC) was anintervenerin the Corneau case at the Quebec Court of Appeal, along with three Innu First Nations.

Clment Chartier, president of the MNC, said the organization was concerned about courts reinterpreting and altering the Powley Test.

• For more on the Powley Test read Exploring Identity: Who are the Mtis and what are their rights?

"Now that the appeal has been dismissed, that concern has been allayed," said Chartier.

"There is only one historic MtisNation and one historic Mtis Nation homeland, and that's based primarily in Western Canada."

Chartier said if the leave had been granted, the MNC would have intervened again.

The MNCalso issued a news release Thursday stating groups in eastern Canada claiming Mtis section 35 rights on the basis of mixed ancestry have "no connection to our people and nation but seek to usurp our rights and benefits that we have fought so hard to attain" and that the judgment willhopefully "deter thesegroups from continuing their attempts at identity theft."

"The term Mtis is becoming an adjective opposed to a proper noun, so that always remains a concern," Chartiertold CBC News.

"It's always a potential flash point for the Mtis Nation, so we continue to state who we are.If courts elsewhere say these people are Mtis and have certain rights, that certainly doesn't mean they are a part of the historic MtisNation, and never will be."