R v Bernard, 2010 NBPC 30

This case was heard in the New Brunswick Provincial Court.

The Defendant, Stephen Charles Bernard, had been charged under New Brunswick's Fish and Wildlife Act for unlicenced deer hunting. Mr. Bernard was Mi’kmaq and argued that he had an Aboriginal right to hunt in the area he had been caught, which he described as traditional Mi’kmaw territory. 

There were two issues before the Provincial Court: first, was the Defendant an Indigenous person as recognized under s 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, and second, did the Indigenous group the Defendant belonged to (the “Schubenacadie Mi’kmaq”), have an Aboriginal right to hunt in the area where Mr. Bernard was caught?

Through the use of expert evidence, the Defendant was able to establish that historically the Mi’kmaq had an Aboriginal right to hunt in the area. However, the Court held that the Defendant failed to prove his belonging to a specific Mi’kmaw community that continued to have the right in the modern context. For that reason, Mr. Bernard was found guilty.

This decision was subsequently appealed in R v Bernard, 2016 NBQB 21.

View the Decision on CanLII: www.canlii.org/en/nb/nbpc/doc/2010/2010nbpc30/2010nbpc30.html

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