Thank you.
Tansi, everyone.
My name is Cassidy Caron. I sit before you today as the president of the Métis National Council, which has been the recognized national and international representative of the Métis nation in Canada since 1983.
The Métis National Council, for those of you who may not know, is composed of, and receives its mandate from, the democratically elected leadership within provincial Métis governments currently within the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
In 2017, the Government of Canada and Métis governments entered into the Canada‒Métis Nation Accord. Among its objectives, the accord seeks to advance reconciliation of the rights, claims, interests and aspirations of the Métis nation. Four of five Métis governments recognized as signatories to this accord are the governments that currently compose the Métis National Council.
Our Métis governments, through their registries and democratically elected governance structures at the local, regional and provincial levels, are mandated and authorized to represent Métis nation citizens within their respective jurisdictions, including in dealing with collectively held Métis rights, interests and outstanding claims against the Crown.
Since 1983, the Métis National Council's priority has always been to advance the distinct Métis voice at the national and international levels, and we will continue to advance issues of collective importance and serve the Métis nation as our original founders intended.
I want to begin this morning by extending my gratitude for the work that has been done by the transitional committee to date in developing this legislation and to the interim board that sat in 2017 and 2018 to provide guidance to this transitional committee, and to all those who participated in and contributed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, where this idea of a national council for truth and reconciliation was first articulated as an accountability mechanism. A significant amount of work by a significant number of individuals who have dedicated their time and effort has brought us to this point today. Their efforts must be recognized.
While a significant amount of time has passed since the release of the recommendation to establish the national council, we would rather not dwell on the time that has passed but rather focus our attention now towards the significant amount of work that lies ahead on our journeys toward reconciliation. Fulfilling TRC call to action 53 will be a significant step in the right direction on our collective journey forward in this country, and Bill C-29 is an important piece of legislation that can serve to support our ongoing and continued efforts on the journey of reconciliation.
While Bill C-29 will support this through the creation of this independent, non-political, permanent and indigenous-led organization, we believe that in some circumstances the legislation does not go quite far enough to provide for the federal government to truly lay the foundation to also address call to action 55, which is a piece that is critical to setting this national council up for success and ensuring that progress is made. Call to action 55 calls on the Government of Canada to provide key information to the council to support its mandate, including reports or data requested by the national council.
As it's currently written, the legislation fails to provide for mechanisms or enablers, such as a subpoena power, to ensure that this government or subsequent governments into the future cannot shield or refuse to provide full access to reports or data required to meet its mandate. It is important to ask how this council will successfully monitor the state of reconciliation without legislated powers to access this critical data.
I will note, however, that a key role and function of the Métis National Council through its dedicated seat on this council will be to support the implementation of call to action 55, thereby contributing to the success of the National Council for TRC.
As we move down a pathway toward data sovereignty, the Métis National Council aims to support our Métis governments in the areas of information governance and management, and it is working toward being able to collect, analyze, evaluate and govern Métis nation data, including data that will be able to contribute to reports on the progress toward reconciliation.
Furthermore, the purpose and function of the council, as set out in the proposed legislation, are in line with the Métis National Council's understanding of how we, collectively, will continue to advance reconciliation efforts. The research and reports that will be produced by the national council can also provide a very important opportunity to highlight the positive work taking place within our communities as it relates to reconciliation.
I will end by once again thanking the individuals who have contributed to the development of this legislation. As the recognized national Métis voice, I applaud the particular attention in the legislation to ensuring that indigenous voices will be a majority on this council, as well as the protection of the three national indigenous organizations' ability to appoint board members.
It's our hope that the end result of this legislation will be the formation of a national council board that can apply a distinctions-based approach and fulfill its mandate to the best of its ability for all indigenous peoples.
Thank you.