Saskatchewan’s highest court has overturned the conviction of an Indigenous man who was accused of illegally hunting moose on private property.
Kristjan Pierone, of Treaty Five in Manitoba, was previously found guilty of unlawful hunting after killing a moose on the property of Benmoen Farming Company Ltd., near Swift Current, Sask., in September 2015. The moose was killed in a slough approximately 70 metres from the road.
Pierone pleaded not guilty and was initially acquitted at trial, but the Crown successfully appealed the case and secured a conviction. The Crown had argued that Pierone did not have the right to claim treaty hunting rights within Treaty Four land. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruled on Apr. 27 that the appeal judge incorrectly reviewed the case and the impact of the evidence. The appeal court wrote in its decision that the slough (a wetland area on the property) was “geographically distinct” from the farming company’s cultivated land, and was incompatible for the company’s use. “Nothing on the evidence suggests the cultivate part of the quarter section had been involved in or affected by Mr. Pierone’s hunt,” the decision said.
Heather Bair, vice-chief of the Federation of Sovereign and Indigenous Nations, hailed the acquittal as an affirmation of First Nations’ inherent treaty rights for hunting.
“Many First Nations people rely on wildlife and plants for sustenance,” she said in a news release. “This is an important issue and we will follow up with the Minister of Environment.”