 Landmark
decision gives “Indian” status to Métis and non-status Indians
January 10, 2013
OPSEU’s Aboriginal Circle praises the recent landmark
decision granting “Indian” status to Métis and non-status Indians. On
January 8, 2013, Federal Court Judge Michael Phelan declared that under
section 91 (24) of The Constitution Act, 1867, the Federal Government of
Canada has jurisdiction over Métis and non-status Indians. This decision
states that the federal government has exclusive legislative authority with
respect to “Indians and Lands reserved for the Indians.” As a result, more
than 600,000 Métis and non-status Indians now have a legal entitlement to
access education, healthcare, benefits and negation rights in land claims.
Daniels v. Canada has been a case over 12 years in the
making. Throughout that time, Canada has vigorously resisted the claim of
jurisdiction. It first denied access to its records. It then claimed that
on the basis of insufficient facts, the difficulty surrounding the case
should preclude a remedy from being granted by the court. Fortunately, the
Court rejected Canada’s assertions on all of these grounds and emphasized
that difficulty cannot be used to deny a remedy. Judge Phelan further
declared that Métis and non-status Indians have a right to know which
government has jurisdiction over them.
This issue has been an important one for Métis and
non-status Indians. For decades, Canada only assumed responsibility for
Métis north of the 60th parallel. Canada also declared that non-status
Indians had no place under the Aboriginal Umbrella. This exclusion has
increasingly created a divide between Indians, non-status Indians and Métis
as economic restrictions have come into place. As the court also noted,
Canada’s own documents admit that Métis and non-status Indians are more
susceptible to discrimination and other social disabilities and “in the
absence of Federal initiative in this field, they are the most disadvantaged
of all Canadian citizens.”
The Aboriginal Circle is pleased and proud to inform its
fellow union sisters and brothers of this glorious victory. The members
look forward to having continued discussions with elected officials on the
impact of this decision.
For more information:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ottawa-has-jurisdiction-over-mtis-federal-court-declares/article7029340/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/01/08/pol-cp-metis-indians-federal-court-challenge.html
http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/01/08/metis-and-non-status-indians-declared-indians-under-constitution-act
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/01/08/metis-and-other-non-status-aboriginals-now-indian
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