President Clément Chartier Calls for government of Canada to take action on Métis Land Rights
Winnipeg, MB – (October 12, 2013) Today, Métis National Council President Clément Chartier met with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous peoples, Mr. James Anaya in Winnipeg, MB.
Special Rapporteur Anaya is visiting Canada from 7 to 15 October 2013 to examine the situation of Indigenous peoples in the country. This visit follows up a mission to Canada by a former Special Rapporteur in 2004. Following the visit, Special Rapporteur Anaya will prepare and make public a report on the visit’s findings, which will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2014.
“On behalf of the Métis Nation, we wish to express our sincere gratitude to Mr. Anaya for dedicating time on the examination of the human rights situation of Métis during his official visit to Canada” said President Chartier.
In 2004, UN Special Rapporteur Rodolfo Stavenhagen on his mission to Canada met with Métis Nation representatives and highlighted some critical factors in his report, including the inequities that Métis people face in Canada in terms of economic and social rights, education, housing and health, and in particular regarding Canada’s failure to recognize Métis land and self-government rights.
President Clément Chartier’s presentation to Special Rapporteur outlined an overview of the rights and freedoms of the Métis people, advocated for the preservation and positive promotion of the Métis to their lands and resources, along with their culture and heritage through collective negotiations between representatives of the Métis Nation and the federal government. President Chartier maintains that the exclusion from the federal government’s Aboriginal health care and post-secondary education benefits, exclusion of Métis Residential Schools from the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement,
Canada’s apology, and the mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and exclusion from the federal land claims resolution process must be addressed by the Special Rapporteur.
In his recommendations, President Chartier requested the Special Rapporteur to urge the Government of Canada to:
1. Negotiate land claims agreements including self-government powers and fiscal arrangements withthe Métis Nation;
2. Fulfill its moral, equitable and legal obligations to include Métis residential and day schools in asettlement agreement and the mandate of the TRC; and
3. Immediately address the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls.
“We feel encouraged by the meeting with the Special Rapporteur and believe that his report will address the concerns relayed to him, which we believe will be helpful in our continued dialogue with the federal government, coupled with continuing success in the courts” President Chartier concluded.
For additional information please contact:
Ke Ning
Métis National Council
o: (613) 232-3216
c: (613) 297-5193
ken@metisnation.ca