44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 23, 2023
- 03:44:37 p.m.
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Thank you very much, Chair.
Thank you to our witness for appearing today. I do appreciate her view and look forward to the back and forth we're about to have.
I think some of the statements we've had, whether from chiefs in Ontario or Métis in Alberta, are about land and governance. I know that this bill touches on the operating of Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta, but, at the same time, what was raised is what comes next.
Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler talked about issues around land that he might perceive as issues going forward—the consultation piece he was talking about. He was pointing out that there are no exact borders, so how would you define that, potentially, if you see the treaty process as what comes next? How do you see that coming together when you have chiefs in northern Ontario saying, as in the case of Grand Chief Fiddler, that these communities do not exist, that they're “fictional”? That was his word.
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- 03:47:10 p.m.
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Do you see it potentially coming back to land?
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- 03:47:16 p.m.
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I think those were some of the concerns that the chiefs in Ontario were talking about. It's true that the duty to consult kicks in at the next phase, but at that point, there is no mechanism to bring that treaty piece back to Parliament. It was an order in council. I think that was the part that the chiefs were bringing to our attention.
If there was no vote in Parliament on the treaty part, the duty to consult should have happened at the beginning, because there is no recourse on the second part, if you understand what I'm saying. If the treaty comes, and it does involve land and there is the consultation, the order in council would be the final approval, not the Parliament of Canada, which would have the ability to have this kind of discussion about it.
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- 03:48:21 p.m.
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Yes, that's the other part, and I think that's what we're trying to zero in on now and trying to figure out a path forward on, the fact that the Governor in Council could do this almost behind closed doors without the approval of Parliament. It could include land. It might not—you're right. It might not, but it could. I think that was the point the chiefs were trying to make, and I'm trying to figure out a happy medium here.
Would you have objections to an amendment that had a vote in Parliament on a treaty?
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- 03:50:09 p.m.
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Okay. I think I have only 30 seconds left. I'll try to get a quick question in so you can answer.
I was talking about testimony from the Manitoba Métis Federation. They were quite concerned about membership and how that dovetails with Ontario. How do you view membership?
I know what's in writing, and I know it's on your website, but how do you view membership in terms of historical communities, as MMF talked about with Red River?
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- 04:26:23 p.m.
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Thank you, Chair.
I'm going to split my time with Gary Vidal.
President Caron, if you don't want to deal with him, just feel free to talk out your answers.
I want to drill back down to what Gary was talking about in terms of the benefits and how that associates with the membership in, say, Saskatchewan—as he heard from his members in northern Saskatchewan.
Do you understand that to be true? If you are not part of, say, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, could there be some questions in terms of getting some of the benefits that are owed?
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- 04:27:40 p.m.
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Okay. Just to clarify, let's say they are in Alberta. They belong to a Métis settlement, and it doesn't matter which one, but they choose not to join the Métis Nation of Alberta. I know it's not about benefits, but if the Métis Nation of Alberta is the governing body or the one that deals with the majority of Métis in Alberta, would there be risks that those belonging only to a settlement would lose their benefits?
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- 04:28:51 p.m.
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- 04:28:53 p.m.
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I just needed clarification, because we weren't sure. I appreciate that.
I am going to yield my time to Gary Vidal.
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