UN grants Metis status

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Status at the United Nations will lead to "concrete gains" for Canada's Metis people, said Gerald Morin, president of the Metis National Council.

The council's application for consultative status with the UN's Economic and Social Council was accepted by a UN committee at a meeting in New York early in May. It now only requires the council's formal approval, said Morin in an interview from Saskatoon.

"For me what's most significant is the UN has recognized the Metis Nation through the Metis National Council," said Morin. Although the council has participated in various UN sessions in the past, it will now be regularly consulted on all UN discussions about Aboriginal people, including the project to create the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The MNC will participate in a UN forum in Chile this month and will also be involved in the process to create a permanent body for Indigenous people at the international body, said Morin.

UN recognition will buttress the council's position that the Metis have legal rights both internationally and in the Canadian Constitution, he added.

That boosts the group's confidence as it works toward establishing a negotiating process with the federal government over issues including land claims, Morin said.

"I travel to a lot of communities and when people hear about things like recognition from the UN, you wouldn't believe the kind of excitement it creates for them.

"I'm hopeful [the negotiation] is going to happen in the term of the next government," he said. "A lot of federal ministers now recognize the Metis have been treated shamefully in this country. . . we're still the forgotten people."

In April, Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin said Metis should be included in land-claim negotiations with the federal government. Irwin, who is not running for re-election, said a commitment to claims talks should be included in the Liberal election platform. It is not.

Morin said the assistance of Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy was instrumental in the year-long UN application process. In fact, representatives from Sudan would only support the application if it had the backing of the Canadian government, he said.