Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for inviting me to address your committee on the upcoming federal budget and the Métis Nation.
The Métis Nation is greatly impressed by the adoption of a Métis Nation policy by the current government. This policy, advancing and achieving reconciliation for the Métis Nation, is a far-reaching plan for the government to work in partnership with the Métis Nation on a nation-to-nation basis to further Métis self-government and economic prosperity.
The starting point for reconciliation, in my view, is a commitment to begin processes for settling land claims and advancing self-government. The Métis Nation policy also rightly recognizes the critical importance of certain programs and services for our people and the proven track record of Métis Nation governments in their delivery.
It makes a number of commitments that we trust will find their way into the budget, including a $25-million investment over five years in the Métis economic development strategy; the renewal and expansion of the aboriginal strategic employment and training strategy, or ASETS; and the enhancement of existing scholarships and bursaries available to Métis students at various colleges and universities, in partnership with the Métis Nation.
The government's policy commitment to convert funding to the Métis National Council's governing members for Métis identification and registration into a permanent initiative will ensure an ongoing and reliable base of funding, and is very much appreciated. We welcome this initiative, and we see its inclusion in the budget as a first step in overhauling the overall federal funding system for the Métis Nation to put it on a nation-to-nation, government-to-government basis.
We also welcome the whole-of-government approach of the new government in its dealings with indigenous people's governments. The Prime Minister has set the stage for our engagement with multiple federal ministers and in the intergovernmental process on such key issues as the health accord and climate change.
While welcoming this opportunity, we are woefully underfunded and underequipped to participate effectively under the current funding system. I believe the government is aware of this challenge and is preparing to boost our capacity to be able to participate meaningfully in the unfolding talks and processes. This critical requirement for expanding resources should also be addressed in the budget.
Past efforts at getting Métis Nation-specific requests into the budget have been few and unsuccessful. For example, while asked by former Prime Minister Harper to submit a stimulus proposal for budget 2009, we ended up completely left out. The federal denial of jurisdiction for Métis served as a barrier, and the Métis had no one in the government to fight for our interests. The Daniels case before the Supreme Court of Canada, and the strong likelihood of its confirmation of federal jurisdiction for the Métis under section 91, item 24, of the Constitution Act, 1867, will likely reinforce the evolution of a new relationship between Ottawa and the Métis Nation, which has already started under the Trudeau's government's Métis Nation policy. At the same time, the long history of our budget requests being overlooked altogether, or, in the few cases when they were put forward, ending up on the cutting floor, makes us naturally vigilant.
We will continue to work with the government to ensure that their bold commitments are put into effect, and we encourage this committee to support us in these efforts.
Thank you. Mahsi.