EDMONTON – The Metis Nation of Alberta is taking the province to court for “ignoring Canada’s constitution and Metis rights.”
The nation says in a release that it is seeking to have the Metis Consultation Policy reinstated after the UCP government scrapped it shortly after taking power.
The MNA says negotiations for the policy began in 2014 under Jim Prentice and continued while the NDP was in power.
By the end of 2018, the nation says a draft policy had been developed and agreed upon.
But the following year, when the UCP took power, the new Alberta Indigenous Relations Minister cancelled negotiations “without any basis to do so or providing any reasons for the decision.”
“By unilaterally cancelling half a decade of work without any explanation, the government has betrayed the trust of Métis people and broken Alberta’s constitutional obligations to uphold Indigenous rights and ensure meaningful Crown consultation,” said MNA resident Audrey Poitras.
She and the nation are calling on Premier Jason Kenney to recognize and respect the Metis people’s rights in the province.
“Instead of working together, we are now in the courts and industry, who overwhelmingly supported the policy, has no clarity on these important issues as we launch Alberta’s recovery plan.”
Poitras says the policy would’ve ensured sustainable resource development and reduced regulatory uncertainty for future investments in Alberta.
She adds the policy would’ve also helped get Albertans back to work.
“It is exhausting for Indigenous groups to continually have to go to court to defend our rights, especially when the United Conservative Party so often changes course when the individual rights of other Alberta citizens are at stake,” she said.
“Yet, our constitutional rights are always expendable and subject to political whim. The Crown’s constitutional obligations to Indigenous peoples do not simply evaporate when governments change. This is systemic racism in action. It’s time to call it what it is.”
The MNAsays policies like this one already exist mandating consultations with First Nations in Alberta.
A court of Queens Bench will be hearing this claim later this week.
