Walter Moosehunter (Respondent) Appellant and Her Majesty The Queen (Appellant) Respondent

The appellant, a treaty Indian, while hunting for food shot and killed a moose on Crown land designated the Cookson Wildlife Management Unit. The Unit was part of the traditional hunting ground of appellant’s Band. It was also a designated area under The Game Act (Saskatchewan). On the day in question, all hunting was prohibited in the area. The appellant was charged with unlawfully hunting contrary to The Game Act. His conviction in Magistrate’s Court was quashed when appealed to the District Court of Saskatchewan. The Court of Appeal allowed an appeal from that decision. The constitutional question dealt with the issue of whether or not the Cookson Wildlife Management Unit was occupied land within paragraph 12 of the Natural Resources Agreement, and if so, whether or not it occupied Crown land to which the appellant had a right of access. The Natural Resources Agreement between Canada and Saskatchewan had been confirmed by the Saskatchewan Legislature and the Canadian and British Parliaments. Paragraph 12 was to ensure Indians of a supply of fish and game for their support and subsistence and allowed the hunting, fishing and trapping for food in all seasons on unoccupied Crown land to which the Indians had access. The Agreement consolidated the treaty rights and restricted the Province’s power to regulate the Indians’ right to hunt food. The Court held that the appeal should be allowed. The Court noted that the proviso to paragraph 12 of the Natural Resources Agreement provided that if Indians had a right of access to lands, they could hunt "at all seasons of the year". Any attempt by the Province to limit Indian hunting for food to specified times of the year would be direct derogation of the terms of that Agreement. The laws in force at the time of the incident contemplated a limited right to hunt on the land in question. This constituted a "right of access" and engaged the proviso in paragraph 12. It was therefore unnecessary to consider whether the Cookson Wildlife Management Unit was "unoccupied Crown land". Appellant’s position was re-enforced by Treaty No. 6 which covered land within the Cookson Unit. The Government of Canada could alter the rights of Indians under treaties. Provinces could not do so. Through the Natural Resources Agreement, the federal government attempted to fulfill its treaty obligations to the Indians. The Province could not unilaterally affect the right of Indians to hunt for food on unoccupied Crown lands or lands to which they had a right of access. Any changes required in the future could be negotiated and alterations made through the provisions for amendment contained in the Agreement.