December 17, 2021 (Saskatchewan) – The Métis Nation–Saskatchewan (MN–S) welcomes the release of mandate letters issued by the Prime Minister to his federal Cabinet yesterday and appreciates the transparency these letters provide for the upcoming Parliamentary session.

The MN-S welcomes the Prime Minister’s specific mandate to Crown-Indigenous Affairs Minister Marc Miller to continue moving forward with the Métis Government Recognition and Self-Government Agreement signed with MN–S in 2019 and to “meet regularly with Métis Nation partners to make progress on Métis priorities.”

With the explicit mention of MN-S in a federal ministerial mandate letter, the federal government is demonstrating a strong commitment to work with the Métis Nation and advance the cultural, social, economic and political interests of Saskatchewan Métis.

“We very much look forward to working with the federal government and appreciate the Prime Minister’s commitment to meaningfully advance Métis self-determination and self-government in Saskatchewan,” said MN-S President Glen McCallum.

MN–S is pleased that reconciliation is prioritized in all mandate letters. The Prime Minister asks each Minister to work in partnership with First Nations, Métis and Inuit to fully implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and to move faster on the path to reconciliation in light of the horrific discovery of unmarked graves and burial sites near former residential schools earlier this year.

The Prime Minister also gave a clear mandate to the Minister of Indigenous Services, the Hon. Patty Hajdu, to advance self-determination for Métis communities and to fully implement An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children, youth and families. Ensuring the well-being of Saskatchewan Métis children is a top priority, and we welcome the government’s commitment as we continue to work towards this shared goal.

MN-S looks forward to continuing the conversation with Canada to update our Métis Government Recognition and Self-Government Agreement (MGRSA), previously signed in 2019.

“We continue to build our Goverrnment-to-Government relationship with Canada and look forward to furthering our partnerships with Minister Miller and Minister Hajdu,” said MN-S President Glen McCallum.

The Federal mandate letters are publicly available and can be found here.

The MN–S reaction to the appointment of new Federal Ministers in October 2021 is here.

A copy of the June 2019 Métis Government Recognition and Self-Government Agreement (MGRSA) is here.

A printable PDF of the media release is here.