The Métis Nation's Self-Government Agenda: Issues and Options for the Future

• Author: Jason Madden
• Pages: 323-389

323

  

The Métis Nation’s Self-Government Agenda:

Issues and Options for the Future

 

A. INTRODUCTIO N

Major changes are afoot with respect to the Métis realit y in Canada as

evidenced by a number of positive political and legal developments, in-

cluding, the  Supreme Court of Ca nada decision recogn izing and

arming the constitutional rights of t he Métis. Over the next decade,

courts w ill continue to elaborate on the relationship between the Métis

people and the Crown, as well as the nature and scope of Métis rig hts.

Governments and the Métis will be required to work together in order to

move forward on reconciliation, as mandated by section  of the Consti-

tution Act, , and the honour of the Crown.

 is paper is based on a pres entation given by Jason Madden at a national sy m-

posium on Crown–Métis Relat ions co-hosted by the Law Commission of Ca nada

and the Métis Nationa l Council. It is largely base d on an earlier paper co-authored

by Jason Madden, John Graha m, & Jake Wilson, “Explori ng Options for Métis

Governance in t he st Century,” available on the Inst itute on Governance’s (IOG)

website, online: w ww.iog.ca/view_publication. asp?publicationItemID=. e

paper has been updated a nd modied to better suit the publ ication resulting from

the National Symposiu m.

 is paper focuses on non-land-based governa nce structures of the Mét is Nation

as represented by the Méti s National Council and its provi ncial Métis organiza-

tions from Ontario wes tward; it does not deal wit h the realities of Métis liv ing

north of , Métis li ving on the Alberta Mét is Settlements, or other groups t hat

claim to represent “Métis .”

 R. v. Powley, []  S.C.R.  (S.C.C.) [Powley].

324   

It is a certainty that the coming years will herald major advancements

with respect to the Métis agenda. What is unclear, however, is what form

these advancements wi ll take. How w ill t he process of registration of

the Métis citizens and rights-holders evolve? How will Métis choose to

implement their rights? How will the Métis people relate to the Canad-

ian state? How will the Métis people govern themselves? How will Méti s

jurisdiction be addressed? Métis people, the public, and governments,

at all levels, have great interest in how these important questions wi ll be

addressed.

Despite the urgency of these questions, and in contrast to the gov-

ernance issues relating to First Nations, relatively little has been w ritten

or researched on Métis self-government or contemporary Métis govern-

ance str uctures in Ca nada. i s paper attempts to identify some of t he

issues t he Métis people and t heir elected leadership should consider in

order to be prepared for a nd take advantage of emerging opportunities

for the Métis self-government agenda. e paper does not focu s on ex-

tensively setting out or arguing the lega l basis for Métis self-government

in Canada . Instead, it focuses on Métis governance issues, internal and

external, that should be addressed in order to move the broader Métis

self-government agenda forward. While addressing these issues may

not be as “exciting” or “sexy” a s loy discussions on Métis self-govern-

ment, the author believes t hey are essential for laying the foundation

for implementing Métis self-government in Canad a. Simply put, strong

governance st ructures and institutions are needed into order to create

the environment and conditions for eectively implementing Métis self-

government.

is paper begins by briey exploring t he concepts of governance.

It goes on to provide a brief historical overview of the Métis Nation, de-

scribe current Méti s governance systems, outline a series of governance

challenges, and then present some best practices. From there, it provides

an overview of some of the rationales for Métis self-government, which is

central to d riving governance development. Next, fundamental govern-

ance issues that Métis wi ll need to address as they move their self-gov-

ernment agenda forward are explored. With in each of these governance

issues, the paper attempts to identify the issues at play and presents op-

tions or, in some instances , specic proposals for further consideration

and reection.

  ’ -   325

Finally, it is important to note that while the paper does make sugges-

tions and proposals, it will ultimately be up to the Métis people, through

their respective democratic governance str uctures and institutions, who

will decide how the Mét is self-government agenda moves forwa rd. e

paper is meant to act as a helpful catalyst for initiating and focusing those

discussions with a view to adva ncing the Métis self-government agenda.

B. UNDE RSTANDING GOVERNANCE

Understanding exact ly what is meant by the term governance is an im-

portant star ting point for this paper. Two sets of governance issues will

be addressed. On the one hand, governance in organizational space

refers to t he relationships between elements of a n organi zation — for

example, between a board, an executive director, and sta  in a not-for-

prot organization, or in the case of the Métis self-government, between

the e xecutive, leg islative, and judicia ry branches of an emergi ng set of

governments. On the other hand, Métis governance must be seen in the

societal space it occupies. In this context, governance needs to be seen

as something broader than government. Rat her, it is best understood a s

a process whereby societies make their i mportant decisions, and deter-

mine whom they involve in the process a nd how they are accountable.

In this dynamic process are a number of players in the overlapping and

interconnected spheres of government, c ivil society, private sector, and

media. ese var ying players make one another accountable for their

decisions, a llow opportu nities for citizens to part icipate in governance

in vary ing ways, identify and create potential leaders, a nd nd the most

eective and ecient means to achieve goals. Eective governance sys-

tems require the fu ll development of all governance spheres — not just

government — and the achievement of balance between them.

Governance processes consist of several formal elements — agree-

ments, procedures, conventions, policies, institutional arra ngements —

which are most easily observed and ana lyzed. But there are also a num-

ber of less tangible factors, such as history, culture, technology, and

traditions — fac tors that also i nuence how decisions are made. For gov-

ernance systems to meet societ ies’ needs, the formal elements need to re-

ect these less tangible, but important historical, cultural, and traditional

factors. For t his reason many Western governance institutions imposed