The federal government must own up to what the courts have now stated not once, but twice: the Métis peoples of this country fall under federal jurisdiction.
It’s time to sit down with leaders the Métis choose and get talking — that’s the message Canadians should be sending to Ottawa.
The court decision the federal government has fought since last year (though the case itself has gone on since 1999) does not call on the government to provide specific benefits or services to the Métis — only to acknowledge that they can no longer punt responsibility for such things back and forth with the provinces in a game of political football.
The door has been left open for the government to negotiate the specifics in good faith — and that’s exactly what should happen next.
It will take time to consult with such a varied group (indeed, Métis interveners in the Federal Court of Appeal case sought several different outcomes). But it’s not as if the court process has been speedy, either. And spending time in negotiations rather than on opposite sides of the courtroom has a better chance of producing results instead of acrimony.
To the federal government: shame on you if you appeal it once. Shame on us if you appeal it twice.
