At a press conference in December, Indigenous Relations Minister Rick Wilson said he wanted to make Métis settlements in Alberta more financially independent and that the province will not renew its funding agreement with the settlements. He announced, instead, that Alberta had started consultation on changing the Métis Settlements Act, a 30-year-old piece of legislation.
The Métis Settlements General Council in Alberta has agreed that it wants self-government, but said it does not appreciate the way the province has dictated it will happen.
This week, Bill 57 — the Métis Settlements Amendment Act — passed its first reading. If passed into law, this legislation would allow the settlements to determine the number of elected councillors it needs, increase its council responsibility to charge residents for services such as water, sewers and roads, and remove the minister of Indigenous relations from any decision making powers related to the Council’s financial policies.
General Council President Herb Lehr said the province is amending the Act without consulting the community.
Alberta is the only province with Métis settlements. The eight settlements are rural, have varying populations and are spread out over northern Alberta. They are governed by a 40-member General Council.
In 1989-’90, under the Alberta-Metis Settlements Accord, the settlements signed a $310-million, 17-year financial agreement with the province. At that time, ownership of the land was transferred from the province to the settlements.
The province paid the money in yearly instalments over the 17-year agreement and also provided direction on the way it was to be spent. Contrast this to the way other Alberta municipalities are able to determine their own budgets.
Regardless, the Council was able to save $130 million for the future. In 2007, the Council received no funding from the province, and started to use the money it had saved. The settlements took the Alberta government to court in 2010 over funding, and they won a further 10-year, $85-million agreement in 2013.
Wilson says there will not be another long-term funding agreement struck after the 10-year agreement expires in 2023.
Over the past year, Wilson and the council have met to discuss amendments to the Act. According to the Alberta government, they met 19 times.
“Modernizing the Metis Settlements Act helps Alberta’s government act on the wishes of Metis Settlement residents who want governance and financial accountability,” Wilson said, in a release. “It is vital that Metis Settlements have greater control over their own future for success and sustainability. Having the governance structure and financial accountability they have asked for allows them to control their destiny by building a stronger foundation of self-government.”
Lehr, the General Council president, could not be reached for comment. But he posted a very different message on Twitter than Wilson’s press release.
In a press conference convened by NDP Municipal Affairs Critic Joe Ceci, Lehr said the process was dictatorial and paternalistic.
The Council has called an emergency meeting for next Wednesday and has invited Wilson to attend.
Top photo: Métis flag adapted from the original