Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I should make it clear, if I didn't already, that I'm a non-indigenous person. I was raised in Yukon, so I have a northern orientation on the issues at hand, but I'm not an indigenous person and not a Métis person from Saskatchewan, but having done research on—

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's a really excellent question. I mentioned at the very beginning that this is a very unique exercise on global terms because, in fact, the relationship with the land has been central to all of the other modern treaties. Certainly in Nunavut, Yukon, Northwest Territories, even in urban first nations like the Tsawwassen First Nation, the land element is absolutely central.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  All four Métis nations, the initial governments, have actually dealt with this quite differently. Obviously, you heard about the Manitoba situation. They've taken a very proactive and very engaging approach, and so has Saskatchewan, and Alberta a little bit less so because they have some specific community issues to deal with.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'll be very brief. If you don't do appropriate consultations—and that question about “appropriate” is extremely important—you're going to be facing all sorts of conflicts and stuff down the line. You have to get to a point, not with perfect resolution.... There will always be people having differences of opinion about everything from land and resources to rights and things of that sort, but you have to have a clear process whereby people have been allowed to speak their piece and you've heard what people had to say.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I have concerns in the sense that I'm very much in favour of transparency in all of these kinds of arrangements, and bringing something back to Parliament for ratification and clarification, I think, is always a good thing. On the other hand, I like the idea of a process that actually starts with this general recognition and allows the formal arrangements to evolve over time.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  My experience over time suggests that, in fact, you don't consult with one group about another group's rights. Individual groups—take the Red River Métis as an example, or the Saskatchewan Métis—can deal with their own rights and deal with them directly. I would say that unless you deal with some of these issues of identity that have been identified ahead of time....

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Obviously, if you have people who are raising concerns about it, there might have been other processes, but I think you also have to respect the fact that the individual Métis nations want to deal with their rights by themselves. They don't want other people giving advice and having an influence.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'm really honoured to be here, to have a chance to speak to the committee on an issue that I think is vital. It addresses one of the most important and long-standing gaps in indigenous rights and recognition in Canada. I have some observations to offer and to put it in context, I guess.