Harvesters

Minister: Leah LaPlante
Associate Minister: Peter Fleming

The Manitoba Métis Federation's (MMF) Natural Resources portfolio, housed within the MMF's Energy, Infrastructure and Resource Management (EIRM) department, is centered around the Métis Laws of the Harvest and the constitutionally protected section 35 rights. As the Minister Responsible for Natural Resources, Leah LaPlante is dedicated and passionate about protecting Métis harvesters, and has ensured that the Manitoba Métis' concerns and interests are brought forward to help conserve and manage the lands, waters, and resources of Manitoba.

Harvesting

Delegates to the 2018 MMF Annual General Assembly (AGA) voted unanimously in favour of a Resolution to defend Métis harvesting rights in Game Hunting Areas (GHAs) bordering the Recognized Métis Harvesting Area (RMHA), including: 1) the Grass River Region (GHAs 5, 7, and 7A); and, 2) the Manigotagan Region (GHA 26 and the portion of GHA 17A outside of the Pimitotah Traditional Land Use Planning Area/Bloodvein Registered Trapline). Despite the MMF's best efforts, the Manitoba government continues to ignore both Canada's Constitution protecting Métis harvesting rights as well as the provincial Crown's commitments in the 2012 MMF-Manitoba Harvesting Agreement. In September 2019, delegates to the MMF AGA voted unanimously for the MMF to consider providing legal support to Métis harvesters who exercise their constitutionally protected rights in the areas outside of the RMHA, including GHAs 2A, 4, 21, 21A, and the Upper and Lower Nelson River systems and Churchill Region.

A Métis harvester must follow the laws of public safety, must adhere to Métis Laws of the Harvest: Revised 3rd Edition, and must hold a validated MMF Harvester Card with the current year's Conservation Trust Fund (CTF) sticker. Following these requirements, in the case of a wrongful harvesting charge, harvesters may contact the MMF's EIRM department. Once contacted, the MMF will gather harvesting charge information and will determine the necessary steps required to decide whether support and legal assistance can be provided. The MMF reminds all harvesters that they are taking a risk while harvesting in RMHA Expansion Areas [i.e., GHAs in which the 2018 MMF AGA voted unanimously to defend Métis harvesting rights (GHAs 5, 7, 7A, 17A, 26)] as well as areas outside of the RMHA.

Due to recurring issues with Métis harvesters hunting on private property with verbal permission only, a permission slip must now be used to obtain written permission from private landowners. The permission slip will reduce the chance of harvesters being faced with a situation if the landowner decides to revoke permission after the fact. Be aware that verbal permission is no longer acceptable and that it is the responsibility of the harvester to understand where they are harvesting. Written permission from private landowners supports the Métis rights to harvest on private property when approached by a Conservation Officer. Permission slips are available at the MMF Home Office, Regional Offices, and below.

Métis harvesters must validate their MMF Harvester Card yearly by purchasing the current year's CTF sticker on or after April 1. In addition, harvesters are required to complete the mandatory MMF Harvesting Survey prior to receiving the new season's CTF sticker and big-game tags. The survey is important to help manage resources, monitor harvesting activity, and increase conservation efforts throughout the province. The MMF developed and launched an online version of the survey in March 2021 that will decrease human input error and improve the overall harvesting reporting system. The online survey is available for valid Métis harvesters below.

The online survey is available for valid Métis harvesters below.

• Métis Laws of the Harvest
• RMHA Map
• Permission Slip to Harvest on Private Property
• Online Harvester Survey
• 2023-24 Harvester Survey Form
• CTF & Tags Request Form

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Métis Lands Harvesting Initiative

Your Métis Government is now accepting applications for the opportunity to harvest on Métis Lands located in the Northwest and Southwest Regions of the province. This special harvesting opportunity will take place on three private properties owned by the MMF through the 2024-2025 harvesting season starting August 19th, 2024.

Locations:

• Minitonas Land (GHA 18A, 160 acres)
• Swan River Land (GHA 18A160 acres)
• Turtle Mountain Land (GHA 29, 120 acres)

Due to the size of the Métis Lands, and to minimize impacts, promote safety, and support conservation and sustainable wildlife populations, Red River Métis Harvesters will enter a lottery-style draw as part of a Harvesting Party for access to their choice of land to harvest one big-game animal.

This special opportunity to harvest on Métis Lands consists of the following:

• Harvesting Party - The Harvesting Party may consist of at most three Red River Métis Harvesters, all of whom must have a valid Métis Harvester Card with the 2024-2025 Conservation Trust Fund ("CTF") Sticker. All Harvesters must be registered to a Harvesting Party and cannot become part of a second Harvesting Party.
• Captain of the Hunt - This is the Red River Métis Harvester who will be the leader of the hunt and official applicant on behalf of their Harvesting Party. The Captain of the Hunt must ensure that all Harvesters part of their Harvesting Party have purchased their 2024-2025 CTF Sticker prior to submitting their application.
• Choice of Property & Harvest - Each successfully drawn Harvesting Party will have their choice to harvest one big-game animal on one of the three Métis Lands in rural Manitoba.
• Property Access - Each successfully drawn Harvesting Party will have a 7-day period to access the property to harvest. If a Harvesting Party decides to decamp and depart prior to Day 7, they will notify the MMF within 24 hours of departure. Access to the property will be as follows:
  • Day 1 (Monday) - The Harvesting Party arrives and sets up of the camp after 12pm;
  • Day 2 (Tuesday) through Day 6 (Saturday) - Opportunity for harvesting; and,
  • Day 7 (Sunday) - Decamp and depart prior to sunset.

The Harvesting Party will set up camp in the designated campsite on each property. Camping must be "no trace - minimum impact", leaving no garbage and respecting the land. Campfires must held be in the firepit provided and cut and stacked firewood will be available at the designated camp site. Harvesters must not cut down trees on Métis Lands for firewood or for camp poles or any other purpose. The Harvesting Party may harvest one big-game animal and no other harvesting is permitted-zero tolerance. Portable toilets will be provided at the campsite.

Please note that all Red River Métis Harvesters participating must hold a valid MMF Métis Harvester Card, have purchased a 2024-2025 CTF Sticker, and adhere to the Métis Laws of the Harvest-3^rd Revised Edition.

To download an application form, please click here Métis Lands Harvesting Initiative Registration Form or contact the MMF's Energy, Infrastructure and Resource Management department for information and assistance filling out an application form. Completed applications must be complete and submitted biggamedraw@mmf.mb.ca by 12:00pm on August 9th, 2024 to be registered for the draw.

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Conservation Trust Find Sticker (CTF) and Big Game Tags

The Central Registry Office has implemented a new online CTF/Big Game Tag ordering system this year which will allow you to receive your CTF confirmation print out the day of purchase, and allow you to harvest Fish, Game Birds, and Small Game. We will mail you the sticker along with your Big-Game Tags, if ordered. These options will be available to you on June 1^st, after completion of the MMF online harvester survey.

How to order CTF/Tags Online (after June 1^st, 2022)

1. Complete MMF Online Harvester Survey (https://cro.mmf.mb.ca/harvester-survey)
   1. You will then be prompted to the online CTF/Tag Request form
2. Complete Online CTF/Tag Request Form
3. Payment of $25.00 (Credit Card/Visa Debit)

You will then be emailed your temporary CTF form, receipt and survey confirmation number, and your regional office will mail out your CTF sticker and Big-Game Tags, if ordered.

How to order CTF/Tags (Dropbox/Mail/In Person)

1. Complete MMF Harvester Survey
2. Complete CTF/Tag Request Form
3. Payment of $25.00 (Cash or Money Order addressed to "The Manitoba Metis Federation")

After documentation validation, your CTF/Tag's will be mailed out to you.

Please contact your regional office for assistance, or if you have any technical issues when ordering online, please contact harvest@mmf.mb.ca

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MMF Métis Harvesting Initiative (MHI) Background:

Hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering are rights held by an Indigenous collective. In our case, the Red River Métis is the Indigenous collective. Our collective rights may be exercised by Citizens. But these are not personal rights held or owned by any individual. As our Harvesters and our Elders have told us, and as under International Law, an individual may exercise or practice collective rights only according to the rules and directions of the collective.

Our harvesting rights apply in our traditional territory throughout our Homeland. In Canada, our Red River Métis Homeland includes Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, as well as portions of Northwest Ontario, Northeast British Columbia, and Southwest part of the Northwest Territories. See attached artist's draft rendering of our Red River Métis Homeland Map.

The issues are complex, and circumstances are changing day-to-day when dealing with the exercise of our collective harvesting right across the geographic extent of our Homeland. This is evolving, and we are building on the strength of our Métis Harvesting Initiative ("MHI").

The MHI was developed and continues to be guided by our Harvesters and our Elders to direct and protect our rights. The MHI has rules requiring Harvesters to have their Harvester Identification Card, follow the Laws of the Harvest including its management provisions, contribute annually to the Conservation Trust Fund, and use big game management tags.

Direction:

As per the MMF Constitution, all MMF Citizens with a Citizenship card ("V" number series) are entitled to apply for and receive an MMF Harvester Identification Card. Subsequently, the Citizen will be able participate in the MHI including validating the Harvester Identification Card with the annual Conservation Trust sticker and requesting big game management tags.

The following principles will frame our collective harvesting across our Homeland:

1. Harvesters living either inside or outside of Manitoba may harvest across borders in our traditional harvesting territory throughout our Homeland;
2. For clarity, Harvesters who are Manitoba residents will continue to harvest within Manitoba and may now also harvest across borders in our traditional harvesting territory in other provinces within our Homeland;
3. For additional clarity, Harvesters who are not residents of Manitoba may harvest inside Manitoba as well as in our traditional harvesting territory in other provinces within our Homeland;
4. USA residents may harvest in Canada as per the above. Unfortunately, at this time, under the MHI, Métis Harvesters who are USA Citizens or Canadian Citizens cannot harvest in the USA notwithstanding being either USA or Canadian residents;
5. Within Manitoba, all Harvesters may harvest north of the Métis Natural Resource Harvesting Zone, again within our traditional harvesting territory, through to the Hudson's Bay coast;
6. All Harvesters will be able to participate in our MMF Conservation Initiatives such as, for instance: MMF Moose Tag draws in the Porcupine and Duck Mountains in Manitoba, draws on our MMF-owned lands, or other to-be-identified harvesting areas in which harvesting is limited and MMF draws implemented.

Red River Métis Harvesters must continue to follow the MMF Laws of the Harvest revised 3rd edition, and any future editions, which include the requirement to follow applicable federal and provincial laws for health, safety, and conservation. The Métis Laws of the Harvest will be interpreted and revised to reflect the above. Harvesting is subject to resolutions, policies, directives, and laws put in place by the MMF Cabinet and the MMF AGA.

Harvesters must understand there is a risk they will be charged, and seizures may be made, by federal or provincial conservation officers or enforcement officials. If charged, or seizures made, please contact the MMF immediately. The MMF will provide appropriate supports to the Harvester, These may include legal and other-related reasonable costs.

Remember, as already stated above, all Métis Harvesters whether inside or outside of Manitoba must follow the MMF Métis Laws of the Harvest. Also, holding a Harvester Identification Card is not a right to hunt big game or otherwise. The Harvester must follow the rules found in the Métis Laws of the Harvest and the resolutions, policies, directives, and laws put in place by the MMF Cabinet or the MMF AGA as approved from time to time.

Our Next Steps in Advancing our Harvesting Rights:

The MMF continues to responsibly implement the MHI throughout our Red River Métis Homeland. As we move forward our steps will include:

1. Meeting with the provincial government ministers and senior officials responsible for natural resources and/or indigenous relations to engage in negotiations towards reaching harvesting agreements.
   As we move the MHI beyond borders, we are encouraging our Harvesters, both those living inside and outside of Manitoba, to be patient and wait and not harvest outside of Manitoba until we have received answers from provincial governments and determined our next steps;
2. Continuing to undertake historical and contemporary research to ascertain gaps, gather data, and examine evidence and consolidate materials for protecting our harvesting in preparation for possible legal challenges;
3. Analysing the existing wildlife and fisheries population studies reports and consulting with our Elders and Harvesters to determine the species-specific capacity for harvesting in identified areas;
4. Reviewing policies, procedures, and directives as well as amending the Métis Harvesting Initiative (MHI) and its Métis Laws of the Harvest (Revised 3rd Edition) as necessary;
5. Enhancing our legal strategy for the ongoing protection of our Harvesters if they are harassed or charged;
6. Reaching out to First Nations in those areas outside our Homeland towards developing relationships and agreements for Red River Métis harvesting within their territories with permissions under appropriate laws;

Contacting First Nations within our Homeland towards negotiating management agreements including the sharing of available fish and wildlife as well as developing and implementing plans for population conservation, habitat enhancement, and sustainable harvesting.

By this process above, we are moving ahead protecting our harvesting rights across our Homeland. We will continue to develop and implement a flexible plan to seize the opportunities and respond to the challenges as they arise.

Once again, I must remind Harvesters there is a risk you will be charged, and seizures may be made, by federal or provincial conservation officers or enforcement officials as we move forward implementing the MHI and exercising our collective harvesting rights.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact the MMF Central Registry Office (CRO) for Harvester Identification Card application-related matters and the Energy, Infrastructure and Resource Management Department for those specifically about harvesting.

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Night Hunting

Following consultations with the Manitoba Métis regarding night hunting, the MMF submitted a report to the provincial government and passed two Resolutions at the 2017 AGA. First, a complete prohibition on dangerous spotlighting throughout Manitoba, and second, prohibition of night hunting within Agro Manitoba from dusk to dawn, with continued night hunting and stationary spotlighting in Non-Agro Manitoba when away from settlements and local populations. On February 9, 2018, the MMF Cabinet passed the MMF Night Hunting and Night Lighting Agro-Zone Boundary Resolution, providing policy specifying the Métis night hunting law in Manitoba, including definitions, maps, and map notes. All information regarding night hunting can be found on the MMF website at www.mmf.mb.ca.

• MMF Night Hunting Law Notice
• MMF Cabinet Resolution: Night Hunting and Night Lighting Agro-Zone Boundary Resolution
• Schedule A: MMF Agro-Zone Boundary Definitions
• Schedule B: MMF Agro-Zone Boundary Map
• Schedule C: MMF Agro-Zone Boundary Map Notes
• Schedule C: Map Note Overview
• Schedule C: Map Note 1
• Schedule C: Map Note 2
• Schedule C: Map Note 3
• Schedule C: Map Note 4
• Schedule C: Map Note 5
• Schedule C: Map Note 6
• Schedule C: Map Note 7
• Schedule C: Map Note 8
• Map 1: MMF Agro-Zone Boundary with Game Hunting Areas
• Map 2: MMF Agro-Zone Boundary with Rural Municipalities
• Map 3: MMF Agro-Zone Boundary with Township & Range Grid
• 2017 MMF AGA Night Hunting and Night Lighting Passed Resolution

For questions concerning harvesting, you may contact Garett Rekrut, Natural Resources Technician, by phone at (204) 586-8474 or by email at garett.rekrut@mmf.mb.ca.

If you would like additional information regarding the MMF's Harvester Application Form, MMF Harvester Cards, or CTF & Tags Request Form, please call 204-586-8474 or email harvest@mmf.mb.ca.