ABSTRACT

In November 2022 the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB) received a presentation from the then President of Region 3 of the Métis Nation of Alberta, Mr. Lawrence Gervais. In that presentation, he read the “Declaration of Self-Determination and Self-government” from the Metis Nation of Alberta’s Constitution, which included declarations such as “the Métis Nation within Alberta were…dishonourably, unjustly, and illegitimately dispossessed of our traditional lands and resources through other colonial schemes advanced by Canada and Alberta: repatriating Métis land is key to restoring our place and belonging”. The CMRB at the start of its meeting and a second time for the benefit of Mr. Gervais when he arrived obsequiously offered up the CMRB’s traditional land acknowledgement which included the acknowledgement to be “honored to be in the…home of Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3”. The CMRB Board members, which includes the mayors and reeves from the CMRB’s 8-member municipalities, subsequently applauded the presentation and had nothing to say about the serious implications of what Mr. Gervais had advised them in his presentation.

FULL BLOG

On November 18, 2022 the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB) held its meeting at the RancheHouse in Cochrane. At that meeting the CMRB received a presentation by Mr. Lawrence Gervais, Regional President of the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3. 

Earlier that morning the Chair of the CMRB, Greg Clark, began that meeting with the CMRB’s traditional land acknowledgement:
The Calgary Metropolitan Region is honored to be in the traditional territory of the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy; the Tsuut’ina Nation; the Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Wesley Nations of the Stoney Nakoda; and the home of Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3.
In the spirit of truth and reconciliation the CMRB is actively working to build meaningful and mutually beneficial long-term relationships with Indigenous Nations and communities in and around the Region.

Later in the morning when Mr. Gervais arrived to speak, at 2:01:34 minutes in the video from the meeting, Mr. Clark decided to repeat the land acknowledgment for Mr. Gervais’ benefit and handed out some gifts to Mr. Gervais’ entourage.

The Métis Nation of Alberta is divided into six regions across the province. Region 3 takes up a portion of the province from Lacombe all the way south to the Canada-U.S. border.

After introducing himself, Mr. Gervais told the CRMB Board, “I know we are not talking about finances here thank god, but I would let you know that the Métis Nation sits very comfortably, but there is always room for improvement. And that’s where we are sort of headed with my presentation.” 

Since the federal government of Justin Trudeau signed a Canada-Métis Nation Accord in 2019 with the Metis Nation, there has been a relatively generous amount of money forthcoming from the federal government through a series of subsequent accords. For example, according to a Métis nation skills and employment training accord, Canada will invest a total of $625,369,476 from 2018-2019 through to 2027-2028 (approximately $62 million per year). In addition, over the next 10 years there will be $450.7 million for Métis Nation Early Learning and Child Care, as well as $500 million as part of a Housing Agreement. As Mr. Gervais noted, with respect to finances, the Métis Nation sits quite comfortably, but “there is always room for improvement”.

Mr. Gervais explained that he was there to tell the CMRB Board about the vote that they were hearing about, namely, a vote to ratify a Métis Nation of Alberta Constitution, taking place from November 1-30, and what it all means. Not all Métis in Alberta were happy about the vote. 

As well, he advised that he wanted to give the Board their “declaration as Métis Nation citizens here in Alberta and what we are moving forward and what we are propositioning to Canada”, adding, “There will be some processes that certainly will affect change within the province, and we know within the cities eventually and the towns”. 

He then proceeded to read the Declaration of Self-Determination and Self-government from the Metis Nation of Alberta’s Constitution. The wording found within the Constitution posted at the Métis Nation of Alberta’s website (shown as a draft) was slightly different from the version read by Mr. Gervais in that he had additional paragraphs not found in the online version.

UNDRIP, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the Canadian government in June 2021, was cited in the declaration, “As a people, we hold the inherent rights of self-determination and self-government as well as all the rights that inhere in all peoples, including those recognized in international law and described in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”.

On June 21, 2021, Bill C-15, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, the UNDRIP Act, received Royal Assent and came into force in Canada. In the House of Commons, the Conservatives voted against the bill while the Liberals, NDP, Bloc Quebecois and remaining two Greens had joined forces to send Bill C-15 to the Senate, with a final tally of 210 to 118. The UNDRIP Act takes substantive steps towards ensuring federal laws reflect the standards set out in UNDRIP. The vast majority of Canadians are probably unaware of the significant implications of this Act, aimed at harmonizing Canada’s laws with UNDRIP, and what our federal government has signed us onto, yielding authority to the United Nations. Among the many contentious articles contained within UNDRIP, the reader is asked to give some thought as to the implications of Article 26 of the UNDRIP Act (see left below). Mr. Ron Vaillant has long raised the alarm about the consequences of Bill C-15 and UNDRIP, as in this video from March 2021.

At the conclusion of Mr. Gervais’s presentation, surprisingly none of the CMRB Board members sought clarification from him as to the implications of what he told them. For example, no questions were asked about his opening statement that “There will be some processes that certainly will affect change within the province, and we know within the cities eventually and the towns” as to what kind of change we are to expect for the municipalities within the CMRB that he was alluding to. No questions were asked about statements such as the following in the declaration. “Today, our Métis self-government in Alberta endures; we remain focussed on protecting and reclaiming our unceded traditional lands”. 

By what authority does the CMRB in its land acknowledgement seemingly cede Region 3 of Alberta to the Métis Nation of Alberta by expressing an honour “to be in…the home of Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3”? I thought we are living in the Province of Alberta in the nation of Canada. Can somebody please explain where this leaves us? Should we be packing our bags?

UPDATE

On February 24, 2023, Canada and the Métis Nation of Alberta announced that the parties signed a “Métis Nation within Alberta Government Recognition and Self-Government Implementation Agreement”, building on a self-government agreement previously signed in 2019 and formal negotiations between the parties that began in 2017. The Agreement commits the parties to ongoing negotiations towards a core self-government treaty within the next two years.

According to the press release issued for this agreement with the federal government, “This Agreement, along with other such agreements signed with Métis governments, is a key part of Canada’s commitment to work with Indigenous partners to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”