Ask any First Nations person how they feel about Bill C-53 (An Act Respecting the Recognition of Certain Métis Governments in Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan), and odds are, they’ll tell you the bill needs to die.
If it passes third reading, the federal bill would recognize the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO), the Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) and Métis Nation - Saskatchewan (MNS) as legitimate Indigenous governments, part of the right to self-determination protected by Section 35 of the Constitution. It would also recognize “six historic settlements” that had been recognized by the Ontario government in 2017.
That’s pretty rich, since the province constantly fights First Nations in court, refusing to own up to their longstanding obligations under the Robinson treaties. But that’s in keeping with the bill, which ironically fails at “respecting” or giving “recognition” to First Nations rights in Ontario. The Act would be a major step toward trampling on treaty rights holders in the 133 First Nations in Ontario, as well as Status Indians under the Indian Act – all while First Nations’ protestations have been ignored.
The Assembly of First Nations opposes Bill C-53, calling on Canada to withdraw the bill and honour its obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to meaningfully consult. The Wabun Tribal Council, which represents six First Nations in eastern Ontario, does not recognize the MNO’s Section 35 rights. Nishnawbe Aski Nation said that it would be “an attack on our inherent and treaty rights.” The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) also opposes the bill, and the Metis Nation - Saskatchewan has withdrawn its support, criticizing the legislation as “one-size-fits-all” as it pursues its own separate negotiations.
The main concern: what happens when large groups with historic claims, armed with recognized rights to self-government, convince Ottawa and the provinces that they’ve been overlooked on the road to reconciliation, and that they must receive harvesting rights, be written into history books, and ultimately be given control over land and resources? Whose land and resources will be given, in that scenario?
The Métis National Council, which does not include the Manitoba Métis Federation after it broke ties in 2021 over allegations that the MNO had watered down its membership roll, has joined the MNO and MNA in backing Bill C-53. But there has been no consultation. The MNO says that because the bill does not affect First Nations rights, it doesn’t trigger the duty to consult.
At the heart of this conflict is a problem being tackled at the Indigenous Identity Fraud Summit in Winnipeg, hosted by the MMF and the Chiefs of Ontario. The harms of “Pretendians” – the misappropriation of First Nations, Métis and Inuit identities, co-opted by settlers and the sudden appearance of large groups pursuing constitutional rights across the country – have been discussed. On the East Coast, such “Pretendians” often claim to be Métis or Mi’kmaq, explained Dr. Pam Palmater, a lawyer and member of Eel River Bar First Nation in New Brunswick. Examples of such groups are the Acadian-Métis and the Eastern Woodland Métis Nation.
Many groups have been politically organized. “Unlike First Nations who all have uniqueness, this is a unified group with all the same intention,” Fort William First Nation Chief Michele Solomon told me, in regard to the MNO. “They have gained political power.”
In a statement, the MNO said it was disappointed not to have been invited to the summit, and that “historic rights-bearing communities unquestionably exist in Ontario. This was definitively proven by the unanimous Supreme Court of Canada decision, R v. Powley.” That ruling recognized the Section 35 rights of the Métis community in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
But what the MNO seems to forget is that the very thing it is fighting for – recognition and legitimacy against erasure – is not being reciprocated to First Nations and Status Indians in their campaign. You cannot negotiate for recognition if it chips away at our rights and traditional territory – and at the very least, many First Nations people feel that Bill C-53 is an infringement. Without consultation, they are silenced.
I don’t often write about Métis issues because I’m not a community member. The definition of who is Métis, who is not, and who speaks for them is the subject of much debate among Métis themselves; it is not for me to decide. But I do know that until everything is cleared up, we can’t be changing laws and potentially redrawing maps in ways that are not built on Indigenous laws and protocols. If these efforts were clear, after all, we wouldn’t be passing laws in Parliament; we’d be dealing face to face. And that has not happened.
As such, the colonization continues. This time, with help.