The Manitoba Wildlife Federation (MWF) wants to bring to your immediate attention a letter recently issued by the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) to Metis Harvesters (below), proposing a significant expansion of the Métis Natural Resource Harvesting Zone (MNRHZ) to include all of the Prairie provinces, parts of the Northwest Territories, Ontario and the United States. Among other things, the MMF proposes to grant Metis residents living anywhere within this vast area the right to hunt in Manitoba without regard to provincial angling and hunting laws, including harvest limits established for conservation purposes.
The MWF has long expressed its concerns with respect to the lack of provincial regulation of the existing MNRHZ, which encompasses approximately the southern third of Manitoba. As an example, the MMF has unilaterally declared a moose hunt within areas closed to moose harvest for conservation reasons. Before any expansion of the existing MNRHZ is contemplated, the MWF urges the province to develop a shared management regime to ensure that all harvest of our precious natural resources – Indigenous and licensed – is practiced in a safe and sustainable manner. The protection of our Natural Resources for future generations of Manitobans should be the priority of all involved.
