Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, province, re-affirm food harvesting memorandum

Around ten years since the original Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the province and Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MNS) re-affirmed their food harvesting commitment on Wednesday.

The commitment is to negotiate a province-wide agreement, focusing on the element of Métis culture.

Future negotiations will officially determine, recognize and respect Métis food harvesting rights.

President of Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, Glen McCallum said Wednesday’s signing opens the door to begin talks.

“To really get on the same page in regards of what we can do to move forward with the Métis harvesting rights for Métis people…we need to have the province at the table, and this MOU does that,” he said.

(L-R) Regional Director, Western Metis Region 2A Penny Hurton, Minister Don Morgan, Minister Dustin Duncan, Metis Nation-Saskatchewan President Glen McCallum, signing the new MOU on December 18, 2019. (Brady Lang/650 CKOM)

The original MOU between the MNS was signed in November 2010.

McCallum said moving forward the two parties must work together to find common ground.

“There’s a lot of things that can happen from an MOU. It’s a matter of being aggressive, and knowing what you’re talking about, but more importantly, to be able to respect and understand each other in regards to where we wanna go,” he explained

Saskatchewan Environment Minister, Dustin Duncan said he was pleased to sign the MOU, and this is the first step in the two parties re-engaging in talks.

He explains what common ground both parties are hoping to find during negotiations.

“A good agreement in terms of ensuring that Métis hunting fishing rights are respected, while also ensuring that we’re able to do a good job of managing the resource,” Duncan said.

Both parties said they haven’t yet scheduled the negotiations, but are planning to visit the issue in 2020.