R v Stanley R Castonguay, 2012 NBPC 19

This case was heard in the New Brunswick Provincial Court.

The defendant, Stanley Castonguay, was charged with possession of a moose carcass contrary to section 58 of the New Brunswick Fish & Wildlife Act. Mr. Castonguay relied on section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 to argue that, as a Métis person, he had an Aboriginal right to possess moose meat. The Court referred to the legal test established in R v Powley, (2003) 2 SCR 207, to confirm the Defendant’s Métis heritage. The Court held that Mr. Castonguay did not successfully prove the existence of a modern Métis community in the area where the offence occurred, with ties to an historic Métis community which exercised the right to possess moose meat. For that reason, the Court held that Mr. Castonguay did not meet the requirements of the legal test, and it convicted Mr. Castonguay. 

View the Decision on CanLII: www.canlii.org/en/nb/nbpc/doc/2012/2012nbpc19/2012nbpc19.html

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