Canada says lawsuit by group claiming to represent B.C. Métis should be dismissed

The Government of Canada says a lawsuit filed by an organization claiming to represent Métis in B.C. should be dismissed as there is insufficient evidence of Métis rights-holding communities in the province, according to documents filled in B.C. Supreme Court. 

The B.C. Métis Federation (BCMF) sued the federal government in July 2024 for its refusal to recognize the organization as a representative of Métis people in the province.

The lawsuit was filed by the BCMF and three of its members who claim to have ancestral ties to B.C. First Nations or what it claims as historic Métis settlements within the province.

BCMF says it has 6,000 members "who trace their genealogy back to a historic Métis community in British Columbia or to a Métis community elsewhere in Canada."

The lawsuit refers to these B.C. communities as "Pacific Northwest Métis."

The lawsuit says BCMF previously received funding from federal organizations such as Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard, Natural Resources Canada, and the Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians Contribution Program.

The documents list nine examples where BCMF applied for programs or funding and was refused for not holding section 35 rights, or because the Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) is the recognized service delivery organization for Métis in the province.

Powley criteria 

A spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada said the department cannot comment on the case because it is before the court. 

Canada's response to the lawsuit, filed in court May 16, says the courts have not recognized a Section 35 rights-bearing Métis community in B.C., and that BCMF represents people with and without Métis ancestry. 

The Supreme Court of Canada's 2003 Powley decision laid out criteria for rights recognition of Métis communities. 

In court documents, Canada says the Powley definition says "Métis" means more than individuals with mixed Indigenous and European heritage, and "'refers to a distinctive people who, in addition to their mixed ancestry, developed their own customs, way of life, and recognizable group identity' separate from their Indigenous and European ancestors prior to the time of effective European control."

In Canada's response, it says the courts have not recognized any Métis rights-holding communities in B.C. because there is "insufficient evidence of an historic Métis community in British Columbia at the time of effective European control." It acknowledges there are people in the province who are members of historic Métis communities in other provinces. 

Keith Henry, president of BCMF, called the response from the Attorney General of Canada "disappointing."

"I was actually quite surprised by the tone and the sort of condescending views of the attorney general," said Henry. 

Canada says MNBC is representative for B.C. Métis

In its filing, Canada says MNBC is the representative organization for Métis people in B.C. who are members of historic Métis communities in other provinces. 

This is partly because Canada entered the Canada-Métis Nation Accord in 2017, in which the Métis National Council (MNC) and its provincial governing members would be the authorized representatives of the Métis Nation to the federal government. 

MNBC has since left the MNC in November, but was part of the MNC at the time of the agreement. 

BCMF called the government's agreement with MNBC prejudice because its members can't access MNBC services because they are not members, and said MNBC's definition of Métis requires an ancestral connection to the Red River Métis.

In its filing, Canada says it does not control eligibility criteria by MNBC for its membership, and thus is not liable if BCMF members can't meet the requirements. Further, the document says Canada is also not liable if BCMF members who meet the criteria choose not to apply for MNBC membership. 

Henry said if the only way to be recognized as a Métis person in B.C. is through MNBC, "that would eliminate thousands of Métis people that freely choose not to want MNBC to represent them."

Colette Trudeau, chief executive officer of MNBC, said the organization applauds the attorney general's response to the lawsuit as it upholds the "National Definition" of Métis created by the MNC general assembly in 2002 to define its citizenship criteria. 

"Those who seek to redefine who we are or create another version of our story, only diminish us all," said Trudeau. 

A statement from MNBC said it does not impede its citizens from registering with other organizations and they will still maintain MNBC membership if they choose to do so. MNBC said some of its members are also registered with BCMF.