Keynote Address by President Chartier
MÉTIS NATION CONSTITUTION WORKSHOP
Keynote Address by President Chartier
December 11-12, 2011
Ottawa, Ontario
The purpose of this workshop is to begin the work on a Métis Nation Constitution.
It has been a longstanding goal of the Métis Nation to adopt a national constitution.
The most recent expression of this interest was the Resolution on Governance adopted at the MNC’s 2010 General Assembly, included in your binder under Tab 2.
That resolution set this workshop as an important step in consultations leading to a draft constitution that could be considered and adopted by a Constitution Convention in October 2013.
If adopted by the Convention, the document would then be sent forward to the General Assembly in December of that year for ratification.
While we have discussed the need for a constitution for a long time, I believe we have arrived at a juncture in our history when it is time to act on it.
In two days, the thirty-year court battle of the MMF to fulfill the promise of lands to the Métis under the Manitoba Act 1870 will reach the Supreme Court of Canada.
This case will alter the way in which the federal government views the rights of the Métis as the Manitoba Court of Appeal has already upheld certain legal principles that will have significant implications going forward.
A victory by the MMF will set the stage for the negotiation of a contemporary land claims agreement, which includes self-government….
MÉTIS NATION CONSTITUTION WORKSHOP Keynote Address by President Chartier December 11-12, 2011 Ottawa, Ontario The purpose of this workshop is to begin the work on a Métis Nation Constitution. It has been a longstanding …