Senate Committee urges Canada to improve relations with Métis
Posted on: Jun 06, 2013
Ottawa, Ontario – June 6, 2013
The Senate Aboriginal Peoples Committee urged the federal government to work on improving relations between Canada and the Métis nation in a report titled “The People Who Own Themselves”: Recognition of Métis Identity in Canada. The report outlines the significance of the Métis community as a rapidly growing Aboriginal demographic in Canada and expresses a need for Canada to better serve the growing Métis population by collaborating with Métis governments across the country.
Senator and committee chair, Verne White stated that
“Métis themselves must be able to determine their own membership and representation. The committee believes that the proper approach for the federal government toward understanding who the Métis are must focus on who the Métis understand themselves to be.”
This recommendation respects the autonomy of the Métis as a distinct Aboriginal group and advocates their right to self-govern. The report stresses the need to develop a plan to collect demographic and statistical information about the Métis and additionally calls for an improved understanding of Métis history.
For more information about the report, please consult the Parliament of Canada website: http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/home-e.htm
The full report can be accessed here: http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/rep/rep12jun13-e.pdf