Métis excluded from TRC process
Métis excluded from TRC process
The Métis National Council says the government of Canada and Truth and Reconciliation Commission process has treated Canada’s Métis people as an afterthought, leaving them out of an opportunity for healing from the intergenerational effects of Canada’s residential school system. For an Aboriginal people who have experienced decades of marginalization, many of whom attended Métis residential or boarding schools, this latest exclusion is inexcusable and demoralizing,” said Métis Nation president Clément Chartier in a press release. Although many children attended residential and boarding schools, Métis were not part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement, a multi-billion dollar agreement between the federal government, churches and survivors that resulted in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
“Other than a few of the recommendations that include Métis in proposed actions, we are treated as an afterthought. Little thought was given or advice provided to deal with the exclusion of Métis residential schools from federal settlements agreements.”
Clément Chartier, Métis Nation president
Provincial governments were not part of the settlement, and according to those familiar with the process there were no mechanisms to get them to the table without another major lawsuit. Over the past several years the TRC Métis survivors have watched First Nations and Inuit survivors of residential schools receive counselling, compensation and support.
