Metis Commercial Fishing:A Legal and Historical Overview of Metis Involvement in the Commercial Fishing Industry

The Metis freshwater, or inland, fishery has been a contentious issue in the Canadian courts for decades, with little progress from the Metis perspective. This report begins by documenting the long history of the Metis as commercial fishers through their employment contracts with the Hudson's Bay Company (1823-1888), and then discusses the challenges the Metis have faced in acquiring rights to a commercial fishery through numerous legal cases since the 1993 Supreme Court of Canada decision R v. Powley. A pathway to resolving the Metis commercial fisheries impasse is probably best found at the negotiation table between Canada, the provinces, and the Metis Nations.