Ottawa urged to compensate Métis

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This article was published 20/11/2017 (2889 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Pressure is mounting on the federal Liberals to compensate Métis people who were taken from their families in the Sixties Scoop, after they were excluded from an $800-million settlement last month.

But the president of the Manitoba Metis Federation said he has faith that Ottawa will follow through, after a solemn meeting with the minister handling the issue.

“Our people want answers; they are going to get them. I’m sure of that,” said David Chartrand.

Last month, the federal government announced it would settle as many as 19 lawsuits and compensate Indigenous people who had placed in non-Indigenous foster homes when they were children as far away as New Zealand, often without a reason. It’s unknown how many Manitobans were caught up in the Sixties Scoop, which spanned the 1960s to the 1980s.

Carolyn Bennett, the minister for Crown-Indigenous relations, announced the $800-million payout will compensate each survivor from $25,000 to $50,000, and create a new “foundation for healing” aimed at reviving Indigenous languages and cultures, with a separate legal fund.

The lawsuits involved First Nations people, and lawyers say Métis people are not yet part of the settlement.

After being flooded with calls, Chartrand wrote a lengthy letter to Bennett on Oct. 12, expressing “disillusionment and shock” that Métis people weren’t included. Chartrand revealed his own wife’s siblings had been taken from their mother. “Our families were poor and seen as less worthy,” he wrote, adding that Métis groups had no notice of the announcement.

Previously, federal government sources told the Free Press that Métis people were almost exclusively taken from their families by provincial social workers, limiting Ottawa’s responsibility.

On Friday, Ottawa said it’s not denying it had a role to play in Métis apprehensions, but that the provinces have to be at the table to design a fair settlement.

Bennett’s spokesman James Fitzmorris wrote that last month’s announcement “represents the first step in resolving this issue. We know that there are other claims that remain unresolved, including those of the Métis and non-status.”

Chartrand said it’s clear Ottawa had a role, even if provinces removed Métis children from their parents. He fears “this old blame game” where both levels of government delay justice for Indigenous people.

“The provinces are just trying to pass the buck. They just want out; they’re looking at their budgets, they’re saying ‘We can’t afford to give anything out,’ yet you destroyed so many lives.”

Bennett’s office hinted Friday that Ottawa still has to negotiate an end to the existing lawsuits filed exclusively by First Nations people, before including other people in the compensation package.

It’s unclear whether Métis people will have to go through courts to be included.

In response to a question about whether the province will consider voluntarily compensating Métis people for Manitoba’s role in the Sixties Scoop, the province said no lawsuit has been filed against it.

“There presently is no active litigation being pursued against Manitoba on behalf of Métis people in respect to the Sixties Scoop. If further litigation is filed, that would be addressed in the usual legal process,” wrote provincial spokeswoman Caitlin MacGregor.

In June 2015, the Manitoba government apologized for its role in the Sixties Scoop.

Litigation could come soon. On Oct. 27, the former head of the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan launched a federal human rights complaint against Bennett, saying the settlement discriminated against Métis people. Robert Doucette was taken from his mother in 1962

The complaint, filed with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, argues the federal Liberals are violating the charter right of equality. The commission says it will review the complaint, including whether it falls under federal jurisdiction — if not it will be transferred to a provincial equivalent.

Saskatchewan’s opposition NDP is calling on the governing Saskatchewan Party of Premier Brad Wall to offer compensation. So far no compensation has beren offered but Wall said his government is willing to apologize.

As for Chartrand’s letter, Bennett’s office has promised to address his complaints. “The letter has been crafted; we should get it any day now. I’m being patient,” he said. “If you push too hard, too fast, you might not like what you get.”

Chartrand said he had a poignant moment with Bennett last Thursday, when she flew into Winnipeg after commemorating a new road in the Northwest Territories and attending an anniversary in Edmonton of the 1885 execution of Métis leader Louis Riel.

Bennett arrived with flowers at Riel’s grave in St. Boniface, around 10 p.m. The two shared a moment of silence.

“After we went for coffee and I said, ‘You better get to bed, man,’” Chartrand said. “She was still adamant to come show respect.”

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca

Manitoba Métis Federation letter on Sixties Scoop survivors