This historic event advances the path of reconciliation that Canada and the Métis Nation have embarked on since the election of the Trudeau government. Louis Riel was three times elected to the House of Commons but never allowed to take his seat.
Minister Bennett highlighted the new nation-to-nation, government-to-government relationship with the Métis Nation in her remarks. President Chartier stressed the critical role played by Riel in bringing the Red River Settlement into Confederation as the Province of Manitoba in 1870 as well as the rest of the historic Northwest. The ceremony followed yesterday’s historic signing of a framework agreement by Canada and the Manitoba Metis Federation to negotiate a settlement of the Manitoba Métis land claim that was upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2013.
