Youth shine as legislative battle rages
Indian Act conflict in House of Commons continues
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$19 $0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then billed as $19 every four weeks (new subscribers and qualified returning subscribers only). Cancel anytime.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/06/2017 (2473 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
OTTAWA — As a contentious battle over the Indian Act continued Wednesday in the House of Commons, Manitoban youth took centre stage outside at a jovial ceremony to mark National Aboriginal Day.
Some Manitoban parliamentarians are in a contentious faceoff with the government over Bill S-3, which aims to restore Indian status to women who married non-indigenous men, as well as their descendants.
The federal Liberals tabled the bill in November after a court case in August 2015 found the policy violated Charter rights. The original bill would fix the lineage provisions of the Indian Act for those who lost their status from 1951 onward and their descendants.
But last month, Manitoba Sen. Marilou McPhedran amended the bill to apply to cases dating to 1876, which the Senate approved in its final vote.
With support from Manitoba Sen. Murray Sinclair and Winnipeg Centre MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette, the amendment turned into a dramatic standoff, with the government ominously warning about “dire, unintended consequences.”
The Liberals say they want to fix the law incrementally, to quickly grant Indian status to roughly 35,000 people while consulting with indigenous bands for a later bill to avoid a sudden onslaught of members with voting rights. It is unknown how many Manitobans would be eligible.
The government has refused offers to extend the court’s July 3 deadline and activists say they don’t trust bureaucrats to properly craft a later bill.
In a Wednesday vote, the governing Liberals passed the bill in its original form, with Conservative support bringing a 242-42 result. The bill will be sent back to the Senate for a final vote as soon as Thursday.
As the Free Press reported, some senators are mulling a rare procedural move — last used in 1947 — to have a private meeting of MPs and senators to settle the dispute.
Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined indigenous leaders to announce the Ottawa building housing his office will no longer bear the name of Hector-Louis Langevin, a father of Confederation and an architect of the residential school system.
At a midday ceremony, Trudeau also announced the government will rename National Aboriginal Day to National Indigenous Peoples Day — though he’s resisting calls to make it a federal holiday.
His key announcement was a building that sits directly across from Parliament Hill — a 1930s structure that has been vacant since the U.S. embassy relocated in 1998 — would become a space to commemorate First Nations, Inuit and Métis people by 2023.
David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Metis Federation, said the announcements sent “a powerful message” to Canadians.
“This is a time for the nation to come together,” he said, standing under a massive banner adorned with Métis symbols. “Without doubt, I think Canadians will embrace this; I know in Manitoba they will.”
The ceremony included almost a dozen young Manitobans dancing a traditional Métis country ballad.
Following the performance, one of the dancers ran to a chair, picked up a red object and made a beeline toward Trudeau, stepping on stage.
That caused a handful of tall people with sunglasses and earpieces to suddenly perk up.
The young woman presented a traditional arrowed sash “on behalf of the Métis people,” and proceeded to loop it around the waist of Trudeau, who was seemed surprised but happy.
Tayler Fleming, a fiddler from Minitonas, later admitted to being star-struck as she played a traditional Métis number on violin in front of Trudeau.
“It was super crazy,” she said. “To play in front of him, I had to put that in the back of my mind.”
Portage la Prairie resident Calista Sainsbury, who danced alongside the Métis Prairie Steppers, said having a spot so close to Parliament gave her hope for reconciliation. “It’s time for us to be noticed, in the community and across Canada. It’s definitely a step in the right direction.”
Chartrand noted historical Métis leader Louis Riel couldn’t take his seat in Parliament because of warrants for his arrest.
“I’m sure Riel’s smiling down on us today,” he said. “While our leader was denied, we’ll be right there, across the street, looking at them eye-to-eye.”
— with files from The Canadian Press
dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca