The roots of both of those words have reconciliation qualities. They're process words. They involve the act of reconciliation and reciprocal accountability between both parties. At no point have I or my community been consulted on this process. We feel as if, notwithstanding what UNDRIP states.... It's just about common sense and reaching a place where we have a voice. We wrote letters to the previous minister of Crown-indigenous relations and the Prime Minister several times, without even...an acknowledgement in response. The last time we wrote was in February 2023.
I represent several thousand Métis in southern Alberta. We care about what our registry looks like and who claims to be Métis. We also care that we're spoken to. At no point did we even get an acknowledgement in response. None of that speaks to equality or reconciliation, from my perspective.