Otipemisiwak Metis Government joins First Nations in criticizing Red River Metis self-government bill

by Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – The Otipemisiwak Metis Government is proposing revisions to federal legislation that will implement a self-government treaty with the Red River Metis as some First Nations groups call for the bill to be scrapped entirely.

Bill C-21, the Manitoba Métis Self-Government Recognition and Implementation Treaty, was introduced for its second reading on April 22 by Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Rebecca Alty, who is also the Liberal MP for the Northwest Territories.

“The bill before us today is a co-developed, living document setting out rules, regulations and processes for self-governance crafted by the Red River Métis on their terms and agreed to by Canada, not imposed by the Crown,” said Alty as she introduced the bill’s second reading.

She noted that it “will be the first self-government treaty achieved with the Métis government in Canada.”

In 2021, the federal government signed an agreement with the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF), which describes itself as the “democratically elected government of the Red River Métis, regardless of where they live,” recognizing the MMF as a distinct order of government for Metis people in Manitoba.

As Bill C-21 entered its second reading, MMF president David Chartrand said he hoped to “see all party support for this historic step forward on a Treaty that has been 156 years in the making,” referring to the 1870 Manitoba Act, which recognized the central Canadian province and put an end to the Louis Reil’s Red River Resistance.

“The Red River Métis have always loved the country we helped build, and the country we fought for in world wars, despite the poor treatment we received over generations,” added Chartrand.

“Our people will be watching closely as this second reading takes place, with the expectation that Canada’s elected officials are all ready to fix the mistakes of the past.”

The feds signed similar agreements with Metis governments in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario in 2023.

Otipemisiwak Metis Government (OMG) president Andrea Sandmaier told Alberta Native News that her government “fully supports all federally recognized Metis governments in achieving their own self-government Treaties.”

“However, it cannot come at the expense of others,” Sandmaier emphasized.

She’s proposed some amendments to Bill C-21 that ensure other Metis governments, including the OMG, aren’t precluded from signing their own Treaties with the Crown. Chief among them a “clarification that the definition of Red River Metis does not encompass all Metis peoples.”

Sandmaier also wants the Treaty to “explicitly state” that the MMF needs to justify its involvement in Crown consultations outside of the Red River region, and that “Canada is able to negotiate Treaties and self-government agreements with other Metis governments.”

“The vagueness on the geographic borders of the Manitoba Metis Federation could allow them to reach into and consult on major projects in other provinces and overlap with other Metis governments and First Nations,” she explained.

First Nations call for the bill’s withdrawal

First Nations leaders across Canada were harsher in their criticisms of Bill C-21, but echoed similar concerns as Sandmaier regarding the Treaty’s potential to infringe on their own rights.

“This piece of legislation must not proceed until First Nations’ voices are heard and our rights are respected, protected and upheld,” said Assembly of First Nations National Chief Woodhouse Nepinak in an April 23 statement.

Woodhouse Nepinak noted that First Nations weren’t consulted on the legislation, despite potential overlap between First Nations’ land claims and those of the Red River Metis.

“The undefined territorial scope of the Red River Métis within the Bill would set the stage for expansive Métis jurisdiction over areas that conflict with the existing rights and jurisdiction of First Nations,” she wrote.

“No treaty with the Red River Métis can supersede our existing First Nations Treaties, or our inherent right since time immemorial to self-determination.”

Woodhouse Nepinak is calling for the federal government to withdraw Bill C-21 and come back to the drawing board with First Nations’ input.

“Should the Bill continue to advance, the AFN will fully support First Nations rights-holders in any legal action to oppose this legislation, including injunctions, judicial reviews, and action in the Manitoba King’s Court and the Federal Courts,” she added.

In an April 24 statement, Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta went further than the AFN’s call for consultation.

“Treaty 8 lands are not available for redefinition, overlap, or shared jurisdiction without our explicit consent,” said the statement.

The legislation “creates dangerous uncertainty by failing to clearly define territorial scope, opening the door to expansive claims of jurisdiction over Treaty lands that might conflict with existing and constitutionally protected rights of Treaty First Nations,” it added.

Both the AFN and Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta, which broke from the AFN in 2022, expressed concern about Bill C-27 establishing a “hierarchy of rights,” pitting First Nations and Metis governments against each other.

Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations Grand Chief Joey Pete called Bill C-27 an “illegal piece of federal legislation” in an April 24 statement.

“We are the Rights Holders,” wrote Grand Chief Pete. “No legislation can create layers of new rights over our own. No legislation can create new forms of jurisdiction over Treaty Lands. Bill C-21 illegally proposes to do both of these.”

Conservative MP Billy Morin is the former chief of Enoch Cree Nation in Treaty 6 and the Official Opposition’s Indigenous services critic.

He told this newspaper that the Liberal government has “watered down” First Nations Treaty rights over the past 11 years.

Morin emphasized that he believes the MMF “has done amazing things” for its members, but he said the bill’s implications for Treaty First Nations “remains an outstanding question that needs to be answered in a more thoughtful way than the government’s doing right now.”

“Every First Nation has been consistent that the consultation process has been

really, really poor and negligent from the First Nations perspective on a new Treaty in their territory,” said Morin.

He added that he shares the concerns of Metis communities.

“Metis, just like First Nations, have their own unique history based not just in Manitoba, but across different Metis communities,” said Morin.

“The federal government seems to be moving at speeds for one group and creating uncertainty for the future of other, even Metis, groups themselves.”