Alberta Court of Appeal upholds restrictions on Metis hunting rights

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – The Alberta Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling that restricts where Metis people can hunt in the province.

Garry Hirsekorn was convicted in 2010 of hunting out of season after he shot a mule deer in 2007 near the Cypress Hills area of southeast Alberta.

His lawyers had argued that he was exercising his aboriginal rights as a Metis.

The province only recognizes the Metis right to hunt around several northern Alberta Metis settlements.

The appeal court ruled that the Metis did not have much of a presence in the Cypress Hills before the North West Mounted Police were active in the area during the 1870s.

The Metis Nation of Alberta, which has been using Hirsekorn to press Alberta to recognize Metis hunting rights across the province, says it now hopes to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Canada.