R. v. Sappier; R. v. Gray, [2007] 1 C.N.L.R. 359 [S.C.C.]

Description

\The respondents, S and P who are Maliseet and G who is Mi’kmaq, were charged under New Brunswick’s Crown Lands and Forests Act with unlawful possession of or cutting of Crown timber from Crown lands. The logs had been cut or taken from lands traditionally harvested by the respondents’ respective First Nations. Those taken by S and P were to be used for the construction of P’s house and the residue for community firewood. Those cut by G were to be used to fashion his furniture. The respondents had no intention of selling the logs or any product made from them. Their defence was that they possessed an aboriginal and treaty right to harvest timber for personal use. They were acquitted at trial. S and P’s acquittals were upheld by the Court of Queen’s Bench and the Court of Appeal. G’s acquittal was set aside by the Court of Queen’s Bench but restored on appeal. G did not pursue his treaty right claim before the Court of Appeal or before this Court.\" (The Supreme Court's summary.)"