Manitoba First Nation asks court to curtail moose hunt in its territory

A Manitoba First Nation is asking a Court of King’s Bench judge to put a stop to this fall’s moose hunt in its territory.
Chief David Monias of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation says moose are no longer plentiful in the region, east of The Pas at the top of Lake Winnipeg, and that the province has a duty to consult with Pimicikamak when it comes to issuing licences.
The 1977 Northern Flood Agreement, which intended to compensate First Nations for damages caused by Manitoba Hydro’s construction of the Churchill River Diversion, grants residents of First Nations first priority to wildlife resources within their trapline zones.
Monias told 680 CJOB the agreement isn’t being followed.
“The Northern Flood Agreement is a modern-day treaty — it’s an addendum to Treaty 5,” Monias said.
Earlier this month, the Manitoba Wildlife Federation also asked a judge to intervene in a decision to reduce the number of moose hunting tags from 400 to 100 or fewer in the region.
Monias said the area, which once contained a large moose population, has been over-hunted and isn’t sustainable.
“Not many people are successful in terms of hunting moose nowadays in our territory. Most of them have to be flown out of the area.
“Some people have found that Saskatchewan, maybe close to the border by The Pas there, the Saskatchewan/Manitoba border, (is a better place) to go hunting in those areas,” he said.
“Allow us to do the hunting in our resource area, so that will hopefully slow down the moose population declining.”