R v Castonguay, 2003 NBPC 16
This case was heard in the New Brunswick Provincial Court.
The Defendants were charged with ten offences under New Brunswick's Crown Lands and Forests Act, including removing timber from Crown lands, possession of timber harvested on Crown lands, and obstructing forest service officers. The Defendants all asserted that they were exempt from those regulations because they were Métis who had Aboriginal rights to harvest timber as they had done.
Relying on precedents established by the Supreme Court of Canada, the Court assessed whether the Defendants could prove that they had the Aboriginal rights they asserted. Ultimately, the Court found that the Defendants could not establish their Métis status, as at best they could only provide evidence to suggest an Aboriginal ancestor, which was not enough. The Court also found that the Defendants could not establish a connection to a modern Métis community that was the continuation of an historic community that had carried out the activities that the Defendants were now asserting they had an Aboriginal right to carry out. For these reasons, the Defendants were found guilty of the offences of removing timber and possessing timber from Crown lands.
The Court also assessed the obstruction charges and found that two of the Defendants were guilty of obstruction, but one of the Defendants was not, as he had not been able to hear the officers properly when they ordered him to stop cutting and informed him that he was under arrest.
Two of the Defendants appealed the Court's decision in R. v. Castonguay, 2003 NBQB 325.
View the Decision on CanLII: www.canlii.org/en/nb/nbpc/doc/2003/2003nbpc16/2003nbpc16.html
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