Photo courtesy of Metis National Council website
A landmark meeting between the Metis National Council and Prime Minister Trudeau culminated with the signing of the Canada-Metis Nation Accord today in Ottawa.
The Accord marks a significant step towards a renewed government-to-government relationship based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership. It outlines the ways in which the Government of Canada and the Metis National Council and its governing members will work together to set priorities and develop policy in areas of shared interest.
MNC President Clem Chartier calls today’s meeting a red-letter day for the Metis Nation.
“I don’t think there will any turning back from this in terms of recognition of our people as nation,” he said.
Chartier says the national charter is encouraged by entering into a nation-to nation process of engagement with the government of Canada under Prime Minister Trudeau.
“It offers the opportunity to advance the interests and rights of the citizens of the Metis Nation,” he says the prime minister was upfront and direct. “We now have a real agreement that we can start working on a nation-to-nation basis with concrete measures that can be reflected in the 2018 budget.”
Chartier says it has taken many years to get to this point, but says it will be easier to now negotiate with the federal government, the appropriate programs and services that Metis people require.
“As we move forward, our governments will have to get transfer payments from Ottawa to provide those services to those communities,” he said.
He says if there was one positive going forward out of today’s historic meeting, it was that Jean-Yves Duclos, who is the Minister for Families, Children and Social Development, made a commitment to work with the Metis Nation on a housing strategy to meet the needs of Metis people.
One point that Chartier and Metis Nation of Saskatchewan Vice President Gerald Morin brought up with the prime minister was the issue of Metis residential and day schools and the Ile-a-la-Crosse Boarding School, which was recently torn down. Chartier says that there needs to be reconciliation with the survivors of those schools and also the recognition of Metis veterans. He says those are two key priorities going forward.
Chartier says today was a significant day for Metis people, with the commitment by Canada to recognize Metis people and not pigeonhole them in with other Indigenous groups in the country. He says as much as today was turning point for the Metis people across the country, Chartier says the real work now begins.
“It’s going to be very intensive, and we are going to be devoting a lot of time and attention to the issues. It’s something we have wanted for a long time and the Metis Nation is looking forward to the challenge,” he added.
Prime Minister Trudeau said in a prepared statement that while there is still much that needs to be done if Canada is to address the unique social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues faced by the Metis, there is now a solid foundation upon which to move forward.
“Last December, I made the promise that federal ministers and Metis Nation leaders would work together to solve important challenges. We did not take that commitment lightly. Today, we are proud to announce our joint signing of the Canada-Metis Nation Accord and we now have a solid foundation upon which to move forward with a respectful, renewed Metis Nation-Crown relationship, for the benefit of all Canadians,” he added.
The Prime Minister’s Office says the Accord will bring a coordinated focus across the federal government in setting priorities and obtaining concrete actions and tangible results.
Today’s summit was the second of the three permanent forums to which the prime minister committed on December 15, 2016 with Indigenous, Inuit and Metis leaders.
As outlined in Budget 2017, the Government of Canada is investing $84.9 million over the next five years and $28.3 million per year afterward on an ongoing basis to build the governance capacity of the Metis National Council and its five provincial Governing Members, as well as to support collaborative work with the Government of Canada on Metis self-government and self-determination.
The Metis Nation is represented by the Metis National Council and its Governing Members: the Metis Nation of Ontario, Manitoba Metis Federation, Metis Nation-Saskatchewan, Metis Nation of Alberta and Metis Nation British Columbia.