Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Treaty

Today we are adding our own chapter to our People's history. We are creating a legacy that our children and grandchildren will talk about and benefit from for years to come.

In 1816, we took an important action of self-determination at the Victory of the Frog Plain. Since then, our people have followed the path of defending our right to self-government with the Red River Resistance of 1870, the Battle of Batoche in 1885, the founding of the MMF in 1967, and establishing our harvesting laws in 2004.

With the leadership of President Chartrand, we won the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) MMF v. Canada case, also called the Land Claim, (2013). Fundamental to our SCC success was its recognition that the MMF had standing before the Court and that it represented the collective interest of the Métis of the Red River Valley.

Following our victory, the MMF - our National Government - negotiated and signed with Canada the 2016 Framework Agreement for Advancing Reconciliation and the 2021 Manitoba Métis Self Government Recognition and Implementation Agreement (MMF SGRIA). The MMSGRIA is the foundation and blueprint of the Treaty. The negotiation of the MMSGRIA and now the Treaty are in accordance with directions received from MMF Annual General Assembly resolutions. You can see we have been following a plan and taking a step-by-step process that has led to this historic moment.

This is a modern Treaty focused on certain or particular "core" self-government jurisdictions such as citizenship; election of government representatives; structures, operations, procedures, and assets, as well as financial management and financial accountability. It is unique. No one else has a Treaty like this in Canada. With this work, we are at the forefront of treaty development. Our Nation - the Red River Métis - continues to blaze the trail and lead the way.

Negotiating treaties that cover everything can take decades. The average negotiation take just under twenty years for treaties that are called comprehensive treaties. It was determined that it was best to first get a treaty with constitutional recognition of the Red River Métis, our MMF government, and our basic "core" self-government jurisdictions, and build from there.

This constitutional recognition of the Red River Métis and our core self-government jurisdiction are the foundation for continuing negotiations and amendments of the Treaty. In the Treaty, these amendments are referred to as Supplementary Self-Government Arrangements. These will include immediate priorities for negotiation as determined by Citizens, as well as opportunities for future generations to determine what is important to them and to have MMF negotiate further change and inclusion in the Treaty.

First Nations have personal tax exemptions under section 87 of the Indian Act. This exemption is not included in modern treaties. The Red River Métis Self-Government Recognition and Implementation Treaty does not provide our Citizens with personal tax exemptions, nor does it make us subject to the Indian Act. The Treaty will allow us to negotiate a Tax Treatment Agreement for our Government and other entities in the future.

Citizens should know that the dollars received by the MMF through this Treaty's fiscal financial arrangements are not charity. In a way, this is the return of taxes paid by our people throughout the years. It is time we see the benefit from all we have paid, and our Treaty will help make that happen.

The Red River Métis Self-Government Recognition and Implementation Treaty recognizes the Red River Métis as a distinct Indigenous People with the rights of self-determination and self-government. It does not make the Red River Métis subject to the Indian Act, nor does it give us "status". It does not make us First Nation.

The Red River Métis Self-Government Treaty is focused on certain or particular "core" governance with the ability to negotiate the recognition of further jurisdictions later. It is designed to grow over the years. Also, unlike the earlier First Nations Treaties, our Treaty recognizes particular self-government rights and does not take away any rights of the Red River Métis collectivity.

The Red River Métis Self Government Treaty recognizes our People - the Red River Métis - and constitutionally protects our government. It is also a launching pad or spring board for negotiating new agreements to increase our jurisdictions, planning, decision-making, and control over programs and services for all departments, including education and health. Yes, you will need to be a Red River Métis Citizen, objectively verified with a citizenship card issued by the MMF - the National Government of the Red River Métis.

Please feel free to check out mmf.mb.ca/ega, call your Regional office, or email treaty@mmf.mb.ca

With this Treaty, the MMF - the National Government of the Red River Métis - will have certain "core" self-government rights recognized and affirmed, in other words protected, by the Constitution of Canada. This includes recognition of our jurisdiction and authority to make and enforce laws for the exercise of these governance rights. In effect, the Treaty and its ratification protects our Red River Métis Government by protecting it in Canada's Constitution.

The Treaty does not directly affect your right to Harvest inside or outside of Manitoba within our Homeland. The Treaty recognizes the Red River Métis inherent right to self-government. MMF is currently working on a strategy to enable Red River Métis Harvesters to Harvest within our Homeland, beyond borders.

We have gathered in Assembly at every major point in our history since the early 1800s, in buffalo hunting, in treating and making peace, in facing our adversaries on the plains, in making and enforcing laws, and in establishing the Provisional Government and, of course, the subsequent ratification of the 1870 Manitoba Act. Assembly has always been crucial in Red River Métis deliberation, decision-making, and action-taking.

Building on this tradition of assemblies and talking to Citizens, the MMF is actively consulting with our People about the Treaty. These consultations are through regional and extended outreach meetings within and outside of Manitoba. These consultations increase our understanding of the Treaty and prepare for its ratification.

This is part of a decade-long step-by-step process of earlier AGA resolutions and agreements bringing us to our Extraordinary General Assembly (EGA) on June 3-4, 2023. The EGA is our ultimate decision-making body and authority for acceptance of the Treaty. We look forward to your continued participation and your upcoming attendance at the EGA. For more information on how you can participate, please reach out to your Region or treaty@mmf.mb.ca

We are actively at the negotiation table with Canada to reach a land claim settlement. The Supreme Court of Canada's 2013 MMF v Canada decision made it clear that Canada had not met its constitutional obligations as required in s.31 of the Manitoba Act, 1870. The Treaty has paragraphs that commit the parties - MMF and Canada - to continue the government-to-government negotiations between the MMF and Canada on our land claim and other important matters.

Throughout our Homeland, the Red River Métis is made up of Métis Citizens and settlements also known as local communities, and traditional territories, and is defined by a common ancestry, identity, culture, social, and kinship relationships and, among other things, our history. Our unique identity is captured in the Treaty.

No one else can lay claim to our identity. No one else can define us. We - the Red River Métis - define who we are and who is a part of us. There is no blood quantum or marriage-based requirements as others have defined other Indigenous Peoples. There is no federal or provincial laws telling us who we are.

The Treaty confirms that we have the exclusive authority to define ourselves. We already have and we will continue to do so based on the direction provided by our People through our MMF Annual General Assembly and as written in our MMF Constitution.

No it does not. We will continue to be Canadians with all the rights and benefits of other Canadians. The Treaty does not take away any rights including those expected by Canadian Citizens. We are proud Canadians. We - the Red River Métis - are Canada's negotiating partner in Confederation and the Founder of the province of Manitoba.

The Treaty Initialing will take place when the Treaty negotiations are complete. The initialing is done by Canada and MMF negotiators. The initialing is anticipated to take place prior to the EGA. While a version of the Treaty will be released in early May, the initialed version will be the one presented to the EGA for ratification.

Red River Métis Treaty ratification is when our People will vote to accept the Treaty and move forward and authorize the MMF President to sign the Treaty. This vote will be on a ratification resolution done at the upcoming June 3rd and 4th 2023 Extraordinary General Assembly (EGA).

Completion of the Treaty ratification process has three main parts: first is the Red River Métis treaty ratification vote; second is the Treaty signing by the MMF President and Canada's Minister; and third is the passing of the Treaty's implementation legislation in Canada's Parliament and subsequent royal assent. It is upon royal assent that the Treaty becomes fully effective.

As the Red River Métis, we have worked together in a step-by-step consultation process bringing us to the Treaty ratification. Delegation, citizen-control, and decision-making by our People are the best practices employed in this process. This did not happen overnight. It has been the process followed by the Red River Métis for many years.

Our Citizens control the process. In recent years, the 2019 and 2022 Annual General Assemblies (AGA) resolutions delegated the MMF with the mandate to enter into self-government and self-determination agreements including the Treaty. Without fail, the MMF President and Cabinet have followed those resolutions and reported back on their successful implementation.

Each self-government and self-determination agreement builds on the prior agreement: from the 2016 MOU, to the 2016 Framework Agreement, to the 2021 Self-Government Recognition and Implementation Agreement, all leading to the draft 2023 Self-Government Recognition and Implementation Treaty being brought to the Extraordinary General Assembly (EGA) for approval - also called ratification - by our People. The decision-making authority rests with the Red River Métis.

Along the path toward the EGA, the MMF is actively engaging with our People about the draft Treaty. These are through regional and extended outreach meetings within and outside of Manitoba. At the meetings there are high-level presentations on how we got here as well as about the Treaty, what it is and what it is not, it's organization, chapters, and highlights. There is also a plain-speak walk-through of the Treaty by the MMF negotiators.

At the meetings there are opportunities for questions and answers, and suggestions, as well as surveys, and an email address to contact us at treaty@mmf.mb.ca

At the upcoming June 3rd and 4th 2023 EGA the draft Treaty will be voted upon with a ratification resolution. It is there at the EGA that the People will make the decision to move forward and sign the Treaty. It is the Assembly that governs. The Assembly is in charge of the process and has the final approval.

Land is referenced in the Treaty in two parts: one part is about the negotiations to address the Supreme Court of Canada's 2013 MMF v Canada decision which made clear that Canada had not met its constitutional obligations in s.31 of the Manitoba Act, 1870; the second part is about lands that may be owned by the Red River Métis.

As to the first part, which we refer to as the Land Claim, we are actively at the negotiation table with Canada to reach a settlement. The Treaty has paragraphs that commit the parties - MMF and Canada - to continue these government-to-government negotiations between the MMF and Canada on our land claim and other important matters. Land is necessarily part of a land claim. This will be Red River Métis land.

As to the second part, the Treaty's Supplementary Self-Government Arrangements chapter contemplates negotiations about MMF jurisdiction including law-making in relation to land held by the Red River Métis.