R v Bernard, 2002 NSCA 5

This case was heard in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal. It was the third decision made on the issues first raised in R. v. Bernard, 2000 CarswellNS 420 and in R. v. Bernard, 2001 NSSC 19.

The respondent, Mr. Bernard, was a Mi'kmaw man who was charged with “deer jacking” under section 68 of the Nova Scotia Wildlife Act. At trial, the Court held that although Mr. Bernard had an Aboriginal right to hunt, section 68 did not infringe that right, because its primary purpose was safety. In the alternative, the Court held that if section 68 did infringe the Aboriginal right, that infringement was justified for the same safety reasons. Mr. Bernard was convicted.

Mr. Bernard appealed that conviction, and it was overturned by the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. The Crown then appealed the acquittal. The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal restored the initial conviction, as it held that the accused's Aboriginal right to hunt for sustenance was not infringed by section 68 of the Wildlife Act, and, in the alternative, that even if section 68 did infringe Mr. Bernard's Aboriginal right, that infringement was justified for safety reasons. 

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/ns/nsca/doc/2002/2002nsca5/2002nsca5.html

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