44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 23, 2023
- 03:51:11 p.m.
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Thank you for being here, Cassidy.
There's been a lot of discussion at this committee about who is Métis, and there have been a lot of accusations that certain Métis organizations will allow anyone to be members and that there are no criteria. That is interesting, because when I look at MNC's website, it has a resolution passed by all that says, “'Métis' means a person who self-identifies as Métis, is distinct from other Aboriginal peoples, is of historic Métis Nation Ancestry and who is accepted by the Métis Nation”, which is very consistent with what was ruled in Powley.
I wonder if you have any processes in place whereby you're trying to verify the lists of various organizations, if they're compliant with the MNC's definition and if there is any kind of independent evaluation being done on that membership list.
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- 03:53:30 p.m.
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Thank you for that.
I was having a conversation with a Métis professor and friend of mine, Larry Chartrand, and he also talked about the thorough process of going through who's on these lists and that there's further work being done to evaluate. Can you speak to us a bit about what that process looks like?
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- 03:54:35 p.m.
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Within the definition, there is a certain part of it that says, “is distinct from other Aboriginal peoples”, which I assume means first nations and Inuit. When we're talking about the definition from the Métis National Council, a lot of people.... Some chiefs have come here and said, “These aren't Métis. They're former first nations.”
What your definition actually means is that they would have to be connected to a distinct Métis community, like the Red River Métis. In order to satisfy that, they couldn't just have mixed ancestry from another first nation to qualify as Métis.
Is that a correct reading of that motion?
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- 03:55:31 p.m.
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To be crystal clear and to dispel any myths, misconceptions or erroneous statements we've heard here, being Métis is not about having mixed ancestry with first nations. It's about distinct communities. Is that correct?
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- 03:55:53 p.m.
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Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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- 03:56:02 p.m.
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Do you expand on that? I think it was very thorough.
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- 03:56:56 p.m.
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Thank you for your testimony. I appreciate it.
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- 04:31:55 p.m.
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Thank you for that.
I know those questions kind of blur the lines between section 35 rights and subsection 91(24) rights in Indian Act in a way that it was really tough to answer.
Chief, to the best of your reading of this legislation, does this legislation talk at all about any of those rights that people are saying are a pie that's going to be split, or is there any kind of discussion of those section 35 rights that have not been proven by the courts in various court cases?
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- 04:32:54 p.m.
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One of the things that people often talk.... Sometimes we come into committee, and we think that we hold indigenous people to a higher standard than we hold our own democracies. We have our opposition—we have multiple oppositions—and as Métis leaders there are going to be disputes and disagreements, but throughout this process, we've talked a lot about how Canada moves forward with this once agreements are done.
Can you talk to me about the ratification process that might be coming for the Métis and how they would ratify these agreements internally?
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- 04:33:39 p.m.
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I understand that it's probably a question that I should have asked the governments themselves. They all have their own....
Would you say that there is a ratification process in place for when these treaties come to some kind of conclusion, that it would not just be the Canadian government who looks at this but also the Métis themselves in those areas?
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- 04:34:09 p.m.
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Yes, so those discussions of people who were saying, “We're not involved. We're not a part of this”, if they choose to have a voice and if they choose to use their voice, as they can in democratic methods, they will be heard and at some point even those who aren't on board who are Métis will have the ability to voice that through a process.
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- 04:35:26 p.m.
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In the quick minute that I have, can you talk a little bit about what the Métis scrip is and how that came along?
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- 04:36:05 p.m.
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I knew that was a challenge, but I thought you'd go for it anyway.
John, I'm good.
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- 05:03:46 p.m.
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Thank you, Mr. Gladue, for your testimony today. Is it President Gladue?
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- 05:04:10 p.m.
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For brevity I'll call you Dean—how about that?
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- 05:04:16 p.m.
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That's a lot. Congratulations on all of those roles and the good work that you're doing in your community.
I want to know a bit more about the Métis of British Columbia because I am interested. I was doing a little bit of research, and I saw in the citizenship application form that there is a lot of talk about the process and the year 1901 as an important portion of it. As well, as part of your registration for citizenship application you require a five-generation pedigree chart. Can you tell us more about the Métis of B.C. and your system of enrolment?
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- 05:07:27 p.m.
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Thank you for that.
Can you talk a little bit about where the relationship is between the Métis Nation B.C. and the Red River Métis?
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- 05:08:58 p.m.
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That was very interesting.
When we're discussing this bill, it does not include the Métis of B.C., but you're still in support of it. Can you tell me why?
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- 05:09:37 p.m.
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Would you say that this legislation, which is for the Métis, would be a win for all Métis in Canada?
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