Finance Committee on Feb. 12th, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

I'm sorry, President Chartrand.

[David Chartrand]

I'm not [Inaudible—Editor].

Jamie, they won't even let me speak here.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

I know, but we have a limited amount of time. We'll see. Maybe Mr. Garon will be generous.

Mr. Garon, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

I want to reassure the witness. I also often feel that I'm short on time. I sympathize.

Mr. Chartrand, thank you for being here today.

You recently signed a self-government treaty with the Government of Canada, following negotiations that began in 2018 and concluded in November 2024, so it's very recent. All that remains is for the House of Commons to pass the implementation bill for it to fully come into force.

I note that this is the first time in Canadian history that a modern treaty has been signed with the Métis nation.

From your perspective, why did it take so long for Ottawa to formally recognize the Métis' right to self-government and self-determination?

What do you think were the main political, legal, institutional and other obstacles that delayed this recognition?

[David Chartrand]

Thank you for the question.

I apologize. I don't speak French. I speak Saulteaux as my first language, actually.

Let me say this. The treaty means everything to us. It's more symbolic than anything else. A treaty was promised to Riel and our people in 1870. As the Métis government of the Prairies, we brought Manitoba into Confederation, and actually, most of western Canada followed.

The sad part is that, when the treaty was promised to be given to us by our first prime minister, instead of negotiators coming to the table, they sent the military. Our guns were already put down. We have always been a military people. We defended Canada on many aspects.

For some reason, after that, this country threw out the educational systems, and everything referred to us as being villains, bad people, and as people who would not be recognized. You might remember the famous quote of John A. Macdonald: “He shall hang though every dog in Québec bark in his favour.”

The symbolism.... Our government, for whatever reason, began not to want to recognize us. To this day, as you heard me say, even in health and education today and in all these segments we have, governments are still fighting about who is responsible. I ask, would government take our taxes? It would without hesitation. The sad part is that it seems to linger yet. How do we change the minds of others?

I'll close with these comments.

I've been the president for 28 years now, and I have a background in the Manitoba Department of Justice.

When I look towards the future, I wonder if there will be a day when I walk into an assembly to speak at a university in this country and won't have to explain who I am, tell people who I am and tell them my history. Will there ever be a day when they recognize that I am too in the Constitution under section 35? Will there every be that day?

I hope I'm still alive when our leader will be speaking and they'll know who the Red River Métis are instantly, as you know who the first nations are, as you know who the Inuit are. Why do you not know about me?

That's been our challenge, sir. Governments have denied that we exist with the special rights and privileges that we have earned, that we have paid for with our lives. Section 35 is supposed to mean something to us. However, today, it has not really meant anything to us, not to a point that it should, as it has for all other indigenous people in this country.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

What you're telling us is very moving. It's all the more frustrating because the sad quote from John A. Macdonald that you repeated to us was recently used again by Mark Wiseman about Quebec. This man is now Canada's ambassador to Washington. It shows how little we have learned from history and how people sometimes don't realize that certain things should not be repeated. We even end up rewarding people for saying these things again.

I'd like you to tell us about the implementation of the treaty.

Is there anything in the budget that will enable you to implement the agreement?

Are there specific budgets? Are funds allocated to that?

How will the treaty be implemented? Is it mostly symbolic? Are there practical aspects that will be made easier by Bill C‑15?

[David Chartrand]

Thank you for that question. In fact, it's a question that Jamie also asked me.

The position is symbolic more than anything. There's not a question that you have to fear in Parliament when you vote on it that's going to cost everybody a ton of money, including my taxpayers, the Red River Métis.

The symbolism is everything to us. It means that our dream is going to become a reality, and Riel's dream is going to become reality. It's not about money. It's about governing ourselves our way, through our rules, our laws and our processes.

I don't think the government will be putting any money away, but hopefully, section 35 should tell them that they should be putting money away, without question. It should be there. I shouldn't have to fight my way every time.

I'll tell you and everybody here that there has not been a day, and I've been a leader for 28 years, that I have not fought for resources or funding. Nobody has ever come to us and offered it and said, “Here. You're under section 35. You're the Métis. We have a responsibility to work with you. Here is an investment for you. Start working.” There's never been that day.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Thank you.

We have 50 seconds left.

I just want to give you this time to add anything you feel is relevant to our study on Bill C‑15. I'll give you the remaining 40 seconds.

[David Chartrand]

I think what's going to be useful is that Bill C-15—and trust me; there will be concerns from our side—is going to give the powers to ministers to make decisions to circumvent the red tape. Let's put it that way.

From our perspective, will it also leave the ability for us to be left out? Will they just say that this is too much of a priority and that they'll just have to leave us out at this point? That doesn't get you anywhere. I think it gets you further behind the eight ball and gets you in trouble. Trust me; we'll never let anybody push us around.

From our perspective, I do support these projects. We have a big problem in this country. We should fear what's happening to us. We have a madman to the south. We have others not far from the Arctic looking at our territory. We're in a dangerous world right now, and we want to do our part. I want to support government blindly, in some ways, because I believe we need to work together.

The sad part about it is, are you going to forget me again? As I just echoed, over and over, we're always forgotten. If we're included, I don't think you'll see as many problems. If there are at least proper dialogue and consultations, Bill C-15 should work. However, if ministers decide that they don't need to have any discussion with us, as section 35 rights holders in the Constitution of Canada, then I think you're going to have some problems.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, President Chartrand.

Thank you, Mr. Garon.

President Chartrand, on behalf of the committee, I would like to thank you for joining us today and for sharing your testimony.

Unless there are any objections, I'm going to adjourn the committee.