A recent ruling by the Canada Supreme Court is cause for celebration by the Wood Buffalo Metis. The highest court in the country has determined that Canada and the government have the exact same responsibilities to the Metis and other non status groups of Indians that it does to the other indigenous people and groups that are under the constitutional jurisdiction of the government. This ruling finally ends a debate that has gone on for 17 years, and it decides once and for all just how much responsibility the government has and must take for the non status aboriginal people including the Metis who do not have specific reserves. This group numbers around 600,000. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the decision “a landmark ruling that will have broad consequences and impacts”, and the ruling was more than the Metis expected or hoped for.
After the Canada Supreme Court ruling the Wood Buffalo Metis expressed their relief at the decision. Fort McKay Métis member Dwayne Roth stated “It’s a glorious day for the Métis people. It made direct statements to treat us fairly, bring us into confederation and work on a nation-to-nation basis. The comments from the prime minister is a great sign. It’s more than we expected. It’s the start of a new relationship for the Métis people of Canada.” The court determined that the Metis and other non status aboriginal groups were all placed together into what the court deemed a “judicial wasteland with significant and obvious disadvantaging consequences.” Because of this the court found that the communities in these groups were deprived of significant programs concerning funding, services, and benefits, and that these people were caught up in a “jurisdictional tug-of-war.”
