Métis leader asks for keys to Indigenous building

Lack of control over space sparks frustration with bureaucracy

OTTAWA— A group of Métis citizens from Western Canada was left waiting in the cold as they sought approval from federal bureaucrats to enter an Ottawa building meant to be a space for Indigenous Peoples.

The group was in Ottawa recently for a ceremony marking the 150th anniversary of Manitoba joining confederation — a milestone negotiated by Métis leader Louis Riel in 1870.

David Chartrand, vice-president of the Métis National Council, wanted to give his delegation a peek inside 100 Wellington St., the former U.S. embassy across from Parliament Hill.

The building has been vacant for two decades, but in 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it would be dedicated to Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Since then, representatives from the three main national Indigenous organizations — the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Métis National Council — have been working with the government to make it a space that reflects their cultural and historical identities.

There are also plans for those organizations to have office and conference space inside the building, as well as areas for the public to tour. Much of that work has been completed, but the building has not yet officially opened.

Chartrand says the Métis space is ready to go and he wanted to show it to his visiting delegation, but he encountered roadblocks getting into the building.

He had to go to federal officials in Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett’s office to get permission for someone to come and unlock the doors. He emailed one person, who had to email another, going up the chain of command until they could finally get inside.

“It took time and the weather was not that nice outside ... some people left and said they’ll come another day,” Chartrand said. “If it’s our building, why don’t we have keys?”

Leaders of the AFN, the ITK and the Métis National Council met last week in Ottawa to discuss the status of 100 Wellington St., and Chartrand says some of the discussions included expressions of frustration at a lack of Indigenous control over the building.

He believes Indigenous leaders shouldn’t have to ask permission from federal bureaucrats to access the space, even if it hasn’t officially opened yet.

That’s why he says they’re now going to ask for their own keys.

“We’re concerned about the bureaucratic side of this, where the bureaucrats for some reason still believe that they still have say and control of what should be or what could be in there,” Chartrand said.

“We do know there’s going to be construction matters that are going to happen, and we understand that, but we want to have a say in it and we definitely want the ability — it’s our building, we should have a right to go in.”

Chartrand says his people are frustrated by the delays in the project, especially after lengthy negotiations among the three national Indigenous organizations over the last two years have been successful.