Include the Métis

When Ottawa announced last week that it was setting aside $750 million to settle with survivors of the so-called ’60s Scoop it seemed the Liberal government was finally acting on its election promise of reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples.

But not so fast. It turns out that the deal, which will see about 20,000 victims receive $25,000 to $50,000 each, applies only to status-Indian and Inuit victims. Métis or non-status Indians survivors of the scoop, whose numbers are not known by the Ministry of Crown-Indigenous Relations, have been left out, entirely.

That is shameful. The government must include them in the deal.

After all, Métis and non-status Indians who were adopted out to white families during the ’60s Scoop of 1965 to 1984 lost their Indigenous language, culture and identity, just as status-Indians and Inuit did. That should be self-evident.

But not only did the federal government not include these groups in the pact, the fact the deal had even been struck was a shock to representatives of Métis and non-status Indians, effectively re-traumatizing survivors.

“After reading the agreement, I began to feel the dark feeling in the pit of my stomach,” said Duane Morrisseau-Beck, a ’60s Scoop survivor and co-founder of a group of survivors. “It goes back to feeling disconnected and not wanted.” Morrisseau-Beck said he has been inundated with messages asking why the two groups were excluded. “I don’t have an answer to that question.”

Understandably, the Métis National Council has also been flooded with calls. “I am disappointed that the federal government didn’t ask us or consult us about this whole process and let us know it was happening,” president Clement Chartier said.

That is inexplicable, as is the fact it appears Ottawa is hiding behind legalese to justify excluding Métis and non-status Indians.

The government is arguing that because the Métis and nonstatus Indians were not recognized by the federal government as being holders of Indigenous rights between the 1960s and ’90s, it cannot settle with them unilaterally but must go through a second phase of negotiations with representatives of those groups and the provinces.

That is hogwash. The federal government could and should include Métis and non-status Indians in the agreement it announced last week with other Indigenous groups.

To continue to fight this battle is to re-open the wounds caused by the racist program in the first place. There has been enough hurt already to last these survivors a lifetime. It’s long past time to settle, and Ottawa should do so now.

Excluding Métis and non-status Indian victims from the ’60s scoop settlement is plain wrong